Part-Time Taoist Priest 18

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Taisu Pulse

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Wang Yuji, like his predecessors, though ordained in Baoyang Temple, had pledged to many teachers of Taoism across the four cardinal directions and contributed to the contents of Baoyang Temple’s notes. This resulted in the notes’ astonishing contents, which included knowledge of various Taoism arts and other miscellaneous techniques and were not limited to only skills imparted by the predecessors of Baoyang through the generations.

However, as Xie Lingya looked at Hai Guanchao, he still believed the man was too young; definitely much younger than his uncle.

While Xie Lingya understood that enlightenment was not dependent on age—Confucius himself learned under the seven-year-old Xiang Tuo—but had never seen this kind of scenario take place in modern society. It was just that the age and generation difference between Hai Guanchao and his uncle was too jarring…

Hai Guanchao noticed Xie Lingya’s hesitancy and his smile widened. “Afraid I’m a con man? Has your uncle never mentioned me?”

Xie Lingya looked at him sadly and said, “My uncle passed away.”

Guan Haichao’s smile faded into disbelief.  “Impossible. We were in contact before I came, his phone’s service stopped, I thought he just hasn’t paid his bills… (Xie Lingya: Was my uncle really that poor?) How could he suddenly pass away? It was just a few months ago that we were in contact. I’ve even taken his pulse before, his lifespan could not be so short!” 

Wang Yuji had not had time to entrust any worldly matters to Xie Lingya before he met his maker. Thus, after he passed away, Xie Lingya didn’t pay his mobile phone bills either. His funeral was also arranged in a simple manner with only a few participants. Upon hearing how Hai Guanchao put it, he said dejectedly, “He had an accident while cultivating.”

Being in this field exposed them to unusual things; danger was inherent, destinies could change, no one could foresee them accurately.

Hai Guanchao was momentarily stunned, then he let out a deep sigh. “I’ll burn some incense for your uncle.”

Xie Lingya led Hai Guanchao into the temple and they stood before his uncle’s spirit tablet to burn some incense.

While Hai Guanchao was burning the incense, Xie Lingya took the opportunity to look down at his phone to check something. He had already made an electronic copy of the temple notes. There was so much content, he couldn’t read it all at once. This time, the search for Hai Guanchao’s name certainly gave some results.

His uncle had recorded that last year, in a certain month, in a certain place, he’d met a young man with great skills, named Hai Guanchao. As to where this person’s specialty lied, the two of them felt a kindred familiarity upon meeting and thus pledged himself to be his student, to learn his ancestral art of physiognomy.

After reading two lines only, Hai Guanchao finished burning the incense.

Xie Lingya conveniently asked, “Was there a reason you came here seeking my uncle?”

Hai Guanchao sighed. “I, your Shiye,¹Shiye = grand martial uncle. It’s the same as Shigong (only Hai Guanchao is referring to himself) was boycotted by my peers. During that time, I made a promise with your uncle. After matters from that side were sorted out, I would come to Niuyang to teach him all that I’d promised to teach him. He had something to do at that time, so I only taught him a mantra.”

Why did he repeatedly bring up this ‘grand martial uncle’ title… Xie Lingya rejected that fact in his heart, but once he heard the latter half of the sentence, his attention was caught and he said, “Although I have inherited the Taoist temple, in reality, I am not ordained and I am just minding the business.”

“However, with me here, it’ll be the same as when my uncle was here. Rest assured that you can lodge here. I’m still looking for a disciple for my uncle. When that time comes, you can teach him as well, and fulfill your promise to my uncle.”

His uncle wanted to learn the art of physiognomy from Hai Guanchao, thus Hai Guanchao had to be very skilled—he surely was a person of talent. Since he’d offered himself to his doorstep, even sharing such a connection, of course he needed to be retained.

“Lodge here? In the temple? I came here to Niuyang to establish a clinic.” Hai Guanchao gave him a strange look that also felt regretful. Xie Lingya strongly suspected it was because Hai Guanchao did not manage to get him to call him ‘grand martial uncle.’

Surprised, Xie Lingya looked down at his phone for verification. “Didn’t my uncle want to learn the art of physiognomy from you?”

Hai Guanchao answered, “Yes, but I am not a Taoist priest. I am a doctor, a Chinese physician.”

Xie Lingya: “……”

Goddammit, this was really awkward. He didn’t expect modern Chinese physicians to be so multi-talented that they even knew physiognomy. Even Taoist priests would kneel before them.

Hai Guanchao looked at Xie Lingya and, as if he knew what he was thinking of, gave a non-committal smile. “In the past, witchcraft and medicine were the same. Later, many people knew witchcraft practices that made use of talismans to heal, and in medicine, there were some mysterious and abstract techniques too. Do you know about the Taisu Pulse?”

Xie Lingya shook his head. In his entire life, he had never once visited a Chinese physician.

Hai Guanchao explained, “During the Ming Dynasty, the Recluse of Qingcheng, Zhang Taisu, obtained the teachings of a legendary person to deduce the fate of a person through one’s pulse. He made it even more thorough and passed down the Taisu Pulse technique. The generations after him believed that the pulse of human beings changes frequently and that examining someone’s pulse to predict their destiny was a groundless practice. Thus, in the course of time, fewer and fewer people passed down the technique.”

“My family have been practitioners for generations, passing down the Taisu Pulse technique. In reality, the true Taisu Pulse makes use of the pulse as a foundation and references the physiognomic theories. When one is proficient in the skill, they could even foretell the fate of the patient’s descendants, in a way that would not fail under any circumstances!”

…Whoa, that awesome? No wonder Uncle wanted to learn it! Xie Lingya thought.

Hai Guanchao originally had a trace of pride on his face, but after the explanation, the color of his face dulled. “I’ve taken your uncle’s pulse before and deduced that although he had no destiny with wealth, he should have enjoyed a long life free from illness. Yet, he met an early death. I didn’t foresee that. It means my skills are not refined enough!”

Xie Lingya sighed. Fate, who could be certain about it?

After a while, both of them exchanged glances.

Xie Lingya asked softly, “So, are you still establishing a clinic in Niuyang?”

“It’s no difference to me. I brought all my belongings with me. It’s the same no matter where I set it up,” Hai Guanchao said emotionally.

“Then, stay in Niuyang. You can live here for the time being. I will help you look for a suitable unit to open your shop.”

Wang Yuji had always upheld traditional values of friendship. Xie Lingya was the same. Although it was the first time he and Hai Guanchao met, he would not have second thoughts about helping him due to the agreement made with his elder.

Hai Guanchao looked at him, admiration shining in his eyes, and agreed without hesitation, “Thank you for your trouble, Xiao Xie.”

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After a detailed discussion, Xie Lingya came to know that Hai Guanchao had a clinic in the previous city he lived in. Due to his talents, he was rejected and framed by competitors working in the same field. They had even hired trouble-makers to harass him so that he couldn’t do business.

It was during that time that Hai Guanchao got to meet Wang Yuji, who was helping someone exorcise evil spirits in the area and had gone to his clinic to purchase cinnabar.

Hai Guanchao said, “That’s right, I do not have much money left. Before this, in order to resolve some matters, I spent quite a bit. Back then, your uncle said we could search for a haunted unit so the rent would be cheap, then he would drive out the evil spirit.”

“…This is indeed a good plan. But, you cannot just wish for a haunted unit to appear!” Xie Lingya complained regretfully. “Let me have another look.”

Hai Guanchao had rented a room in a nearby hotel, and all his luggage was there. Although Baoyang Temple’s environment wasn’t as good as the hotel’s, the hotel rates were expensive. So, after a discussion, Xie Lingya helped him bring all his things over to Baoyang Temple.

“This is Doctor Hai!” Xie Lingya introduced Hai Guanchao and his background to Shi Changxuan and Zhang Daoting as his uncle’s teacher.

Hai Guanchao stared at Zhang Daoting, pondering over the possibility of asking him to call him Shigong.

It was a pity that although Zhang Daoting belonged to Baoyang Temple, he had never pledged himself to a teacher. He could call Xie Lingya Shixiong from time to time, but calling Hai Guanchao Shigong might be a bit too much of a stretch.

Shi Changxuan was even more out of the question. He was not even of the same sect as Wang Yuji.

Hai Guanchao was exceptionally disappointed. It was unknown where the obsession of wanting to become someone’s Shigong had come from. Xie Lingya strongly suspected that something of this nature was discussed between them when his uncle pledged to be his student.

“Right. Doctor Hai, I’ve seen it in my uncle’s notes, this mantra of yours is really unbelievable. Are there really so many changes to a person’s pulse?” Xie Lingya thought that the things he’d seen were often very profound, but this Taisu Pulse did not belong to legitimate, traditional arts of physiognomy, so he was a little curious. 

Hai Guanchao wasn’t very old. However, he had been studying medicine and the Taisu Pulse technique since he was very young, and on top of that, he had a natural gift for these kinds of things. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have been able to impress Wang Yuji. He firmly said, “Of course. The Taisu Pulse is divided into five yang pulses, five yin pulses, four ying pulses, and many other changes.”

“Since you are Wang Yuji’s nephew, you can try learning it yourself. But this isn’t something just anyone could learn, hehe. Your uncle only stayed with me for a while, and he only memorized all the mantras.”

“Sigh. I don’t want to. If I learn it, how would we distinguish our seniority? Don’t you want me to call you my Shigong?” Xie Lingya was originally interested, but he refused to be inferior by two levels of seniority. He was very sly.

Hai Guanchao adjusted his glasses, speaking in a completely natural way, “I was your uncle’s senior to begin with. Don’t make it seem like just anyone could learn it. How about this?  You can try learning it. If you succeed within three months, consider it a gift from me, and we will no longer mention the matter of this ‘Shigong’ title. If you fail, then call me as your uncle did.”

After he finished speaking, he realized that Shi Changxuan and Zhang Daoting were also looking in his direction, as if he had said something strange.

Hai Guanchao: “???”

Xie Lingya smiled broadly. “If you put it like that, then I am certainly willing to learn from you. Challenge accepted.”

Hai Guanchao was a bit weirded out by the stares from the other two, however, he couldn’t grasp what about it was strange. He was confident that the Taisu Pulse technique was definitely difficult to learn, so he said, “Then you need to prepare yourself. Don’t cry if you fail to learn it.”

Shi Changxuan and Zhang Daoting looked at Hai Guanchao again: “……”

Hai Guanchao’s expression of superiority froze. He had a stifling feeling in his heart—why were they looking at him like that? He didn’t understand. Had he said something wrong?

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These days, due to his friendly personality and his generous opening of the temple well for local residents to fetch water, Xie Lingya had formed quite a good relationship with the merchants around the temple.

Once he asked around, he really did find a unit for rent in the back street.

The back street was where the market was.

The unit for rent was near the end of the road, close to Golden Osmanthus Street, Dawn Plaza, and so on. Naturally, the rent was quite high. It was much cheaper further away from the main roads.

Xie Lingya had considered renting a bit further away, but after a discussion with Hai Guanchao, they decided against it. If they rented further away, the visitors would be fewer, and it would be inconvenient for living and eating. In this district, the rent was higher and the unit was smaller, but it was close to Baoyang and there were quite a number of people living there as well.

Xie Lingya said, “At worst, I could open the door in the back, then paste a signpost to your clinic at the front of the temple, so that people could pass through our temple and go out the back door. This way, there would be no need to fear that it’d be difficult to find.”

Hai Guanchao couldn’t help smiling, deciding that this young man really was something.

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“Over by Mingxi Street?” As Bai Lu’s senior spoke, he even purposefully exhaled a cloud of smoke to make his appearance seem more mysterious through the smoke, before adding meaningfully, “It’s haunted!”

Bai Lu’s eyes opened wide and blinked. “Oh?”

“So, if you go to the pedestrian street for karaoke at night, best bring a man with you. The more men, the higher the yang energy.” The senior had unknowingly exposed his own goals.

Bai Lu just smiled.“Oh…”

The senior thought that she wasn’t taking him seriously, and repeated, “Hey, I’m serious. There’s someone in the other class named He Zun. Do you know him? He’s encountered ghosts by Mingxi Street twice. Once, when he, like you, had just finished a session of karaoke, and another time with his roommates from the same dorm. Now, everyone in his dorm carries a talisman. And when they are free they go to the Taoist temple to burn incense.”

News of this had spread throughout the school, how would Bai Lu be ignorant of it? She even found it funny and said, “Senior, you wouldn’t really believe all that, would you? These incidents are very obviously related to the Taoist temple on the pedestrian street.”

The senior said, “Exactly. The talismans came from there.”

“I mean that it must be that Taoist temple’s business strategy,” Bai Lu said helplessly. “Scammers are everywhere now. They’ve just taken a different form. Don’t tell me you didn’t realize?”

“You mean, He Zun and the others were paid by the Taoist temple to do it?” The senior considered this for a moment and thought it was possible. After all, all they knew about these ghost sightings was based on word of mouth.

Bai Lu raised a brow and said, “This is called being superficial.”

The senior: “……”

Eh, wait. How did they stray so far from the subject? The senior said again, “Still, be careful at night. People are scarier than ghosts.”

Bai Lu chuckled. “It’s fine. It’s quite a busy place.”

The senior didn’t get what he wanted in the end, but, even places that were normally busy during the day may not necessarily be as busy at night.

That night, by the time Bai Lu and her friends finished singing karaoke, all the units on Golden Osmanthus Street were closed and not a single soul was on the streets. They had lost track of time. Bai Lu had even napped for a while, but as she recalled something she needed to do the next morning, she hadn’t stayed over.

The others weren’t headed in the same direction as her. Everyone waved their goodbyes. After her friends watched her book a ride with an app, they left, telling her to send a message once she got back home safely.

“Understood.” Bai Lu looked down as she walked, prepared to go to the junction to wait for her ride. At this moment, the driver sent her a message, saying that he was actually done for the day and about to go home, but because he wasn’t familiar with the app, he had mistakenly accepted another order and begged her to cancel it. 

Bai Lu was utterly speechless, but she could only cancel it and book another ride.

Bai Lu suddenly felt something was off. On the quiet street, her high heels were clicking loudly against the ground, but when listening closely, there seemed to be another sound mixed in with it.

With Bai Lu’s considerably keen sense of hearing, it sounded like… incredibly light footsteps?

Her senior’s words from earlier resurfaced in her mind, but wasn’t that just a ruse? In fact, Mingxi Street was a few minutes away from this place, it couldn’t be…

Surely someone was behind her, Bai Lu thought as she abruptly turned around.

An empty street, not a soul in sight.

“……” Bao Lu turned back and continued walking. Was she just imagining things?

Bai Lu let out a breath. At this moment, she heard the obvious sound of footsteps from behind her again. It was definitely not her imagination.

Bai Lu swiveled around again and was scared out of her wits.

In the midst of darkness, there was a distorted face of a ghost floating midair; its eyes were hollow, its mouth open wide to expose a bloody-red tongue, and its face so deformed that both its cheeks were bent inwards.

Bai Lu’s legs gave away beneath her, her heart beating frantically and wildly, face pale and green.

The ghostly face paused for a moment before flying towards her at great speed. Then Bai Lu realized that this wasn’t a ghost face floating in midair, but someone wearing a black robe with a mask!

Bai Lu didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. It certainly was a person, but it was definitely not a good person!

At night, that mask was truly terrifying. As she thought about his possible intentions, Bao Lu shrieked and made a run for it. Her hand fumbled with her phone like her life depended on it, though it was a pity that the more she hurried, the more mistakes she made. 

With a slip of her hand, her phone fell to the ground. She wanted to pick it up, but Ghost-face was male and she was female, plus she was wearing high heels. When she turned to look, the masked person had caught up quite a bit.

At that moment, many thoughts ran through Bai Lu’s mind. Although it was two in the morning, would any merchants or pedestrians on the street hear them? Even if she was unlucky and there were none, could she guarantee that she would be unharmed if she gave her wallet to this pervert?

…However, someone dressed like this could not be trusted! Bai Lu was about to burst in tears. She dared not stop and continued running.

Bai Lu’s heart was beating wildly. Scared and regretful, she felt her head spin. She couldn’t stop herself from looking back and saw that Ghost-face was only three to four meters away; she could almost hear the other’s breathing. Her heart beat faster, and her screams became louder.

Ghost-face even said softly, “You still dare to run, little wretch…”

As soon as he uttered those words, he tripped. It was unclear how a person could trip and fall on flat ground. And he had fallen terribly, sliding a few meters forward, until he was practically touching Bai Lu’s calves.

Bai Lu shrieked as she kicked his face once, then continued running wildly.

As she ran to the junction, although there was no one in the square, a car seemed to be coming from afar. Bai Lu turned around and looked; Ghost-face climbed to his feet, limping and continued to run in her direction.

I’m finished. I’m finished! Don’t tell me I won’t make it! The thought had just crossed Bai Lu’s mind when Ghost-face tripped and fell again.

This time, Bai Lu saw it with her own eyes. It was truly a terrible fall. She found it difficult to believe someone could fall so terribly on flat ground.

“……” Bai Lu was in a daze, and suddenly saw the huge door next to her open, and a good-looking young man stepped out. “Pretty lady, were you the one shouting?”

Bai Lu was elated, pointing at Ghost-face: “That person wants to rob me! Please call the police!”

The man immediately pushed the gate wide open, took out a phone to dial a number, and said, “Come in!”

How would Bai Lu still hesitate? She took a few steps in.“Close—close the door first!”

This young man was good-looking, but there was still Ghost-face behind her that looked like a pervert!

However, the young man didn’t show any intention of closing the door. In fact, he said, “Oy, watch him.”

After saying that, he began reporting the situation to the police on the phone. Bai Lu curiously stretched her head out, realizing that Ghost-face, who had fallen twice, had subsequently fallen for the third time. In fact, this time he did not get up, he clutched his head instead and rolled on the ground, screaming, “Help me! There’s a ghost!”

Bai Lu’s face paled. This person’s screams were far too strange; his actions were also strange. Additionally, recalling how he suddenly tripped out of the blue just now, “He… He…”

The young man looked at her expectantly. “Hm?”

Bai Lu: “He’s crazy!”

The young man: “……”

Bai Lu felt a chill. “This is too scary. Maybe he’s not trying to commit robbery. Instead, he could be a lunatic acting up.”

“…I have called the police. Don’t be afraid.” The young man put his phone away.

Ghost-face rolled around twice, turned his head in their direction, and started running over. “Help!”

The young man quickly closed the door. Ghost-face hammered on the door outside. “Motherfucker, open the door! Isn’t this a motherfucking Taoist temple? Why is there a ghost here?”

Bai Lu: “……”

The man replied, “…Fuck your uncle!”

Bai Lu felt the urge to laugh. Perhaps she had judged the book by its cover. This man was quite adorable when he cussed; wearing a face of indifference, but once the other cussed, he had to cuss back, in fact……

“Is this a Taoist temple?”

“……” The young man asked in return, “You only just realized it?”

The police came quickly, arriving within two minutes and they caught that person wearing the ghost mask. Ghost-face even cried happily, “You guys finally came!”

The policemen: “……”

Bai Lu took the chance to kick him a few times. The policeman waited for her to finish kicking before reaching out a hand to stop her, “Alright, let’s not fight.”

Bai Lu scolded, “Can you commit crimes just because you’re a lunatic?!”

The face behind the ghost mask had already been exposed; the face was both swollen and green with bruises, all of them came from the falls he’d sustained just now. He scolded loudly, “Who is a lunatic? You are a lunatic! There is a ghost, couldn’t you see?!”

Bai Lu answered,  “I saw it. It was you!”

The police told the young man, “Xiao Xie, you aren’t bad, helping another little lady. It’s fortunate you heard her.”

This was the same policeman who came last time, Officer Wang. He felt that the young man in Baoyang Temple was really good, helping others without a second thought. This was truly what the ordained should do.

“Hehe, I didn’t do much.” Xie Lingya rubbed his eyes. What could he have heard? His backyard was quite a distance from this place. He was woken up by Qin Limin beating on the window outside with all his might, gusting in all that yin wind. At that moment, he regretted ordering Qin Limin to do the patrols.

The others could not see it, but at this moment, Qin Limin was floating in the air above everyone, repeatedly chanting, “I’ve done a good deed! I’ve done a good deed! I’ve done a good deed…”

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At noon the next day, Xie Lingya received a phone call from Officer Wang, saying that the girl from last night wanted to give him a banner of appreciation.

Xie Lingya was taken aback.“…Ah? It wasn’t a big deal, was it?”

If someone suggested offering the banner to Qin Limin, it would still be within reason, but that girl couldn’t see Qin Limin, nor did she believe in Taoism. He hadn’t intentionally publicized this incident either. 

Officer Wang sniggered, “Whether or not it was a big deal, don’t you know why she’s doing this?”

Xie Lingya: “……”

At the local police station, a blushing Bai Lu gave Xie Lingya the banner. She originally wanted to go to the Taoist temple, but Xie Lingya had told her not to worry about it.

At this moment, Xie Lingya laughed drily, “Thank you… Ah, I really don’t feel I deserve it. Please be more careful next time.”

“Yes, yes. I know.” Bai Lu’s face turned even redder.

Ghost-face had only spouted nonsense, so he was most likely a lunatic, or at least, that was what Bai Lu thought. However, this had not thwarted her in having a new impression of Baoyang Temple and she decided to pay it more visits in the future to have tea.

Xie Lingya took the banner home. The temple was conveniently void of people. Zhang Daoting and Hai Guanchao were sitting down and having tea.

“Huh? Where did this banner come from?” Zhang Daoting asked.

Last night, Xie Lingya hadn’t woken up the others, so they didn’t know what happened. “Hmph, of course, someone gave it to me.”

“That’s good. Hang it up.” Zhang Daoting excitedly said, “We even have a banner now. Which group of believers gifted it? What is written on it? ‘Person of Limitless Guidance’?”

Xie Lingya: “……”

Zhang Daoting and Hai Guanchao didn’t know why he wore such a speechless expression, so Zhang Daoting asked, “Where did it really come from?”

Hai Guanchao suggested, “Well, could it be a banner with ‘Boundless Strength’ written on it?”

Xie Lingya: “…………”

Xie Lingya turned the banner over—on it were the words ‘An act of bravery for a just cause’—and told them everything that happened last night.

Although in his heart he knew the truth was that Qin Limin was the biggest contributor, in the eyes of outsiders, the entire process was obviously a lunatic criminal tripping over the street thrice. All he’d done was shelter the girl and contact the police. Oh, he also scolded that person’s “uncle”…

“So in the end, although this says ‘An act of bravery for a just cause’, it should actually be read as ‘You’re so good-looking’?” Hai Guanchao asked, “So, are you going to hang it up?”

“Of course!” Xie Lingya said fiercely. “I earned this banner with my good looks, why wouldn’t I hang it up?!”

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Translator: Joan
TL checker: Darkchocolatesan
Editor: Miiya
Proofreader: Taalia

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This chapter was translated by absolutely awesome Joan from Dust Bunny Translations – she’s helping us out. Thank you! 💖💖💖💖💖