Part-Time Taoist Priest 24

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A Hanging Guest at the Door

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“Limit” referred to the limit of one’s lifespan. When the limit of one’s life was near, death was imminent.

Moreover, joss paper money was used by the spirits of the dead, and thus joss paper hanging from one’s ear was an omen of impending death. Huang Jinyang’s left eye could see the supernatural, so he caught sight of the joss paper.

Although Huang Jinyang was not well-versed in the supernatural nor could he hear the whispering sprite, he could still guess that it wasn’t a good sign. He asked helplessly, “What is this all about… Should I tell him?”

In the last twenty or so years, Huang Jinyang had seen many strange things with his left eye and knew that it was sometimes not a wise choice to tell other people of such things. However, now that there were two people present with him who were knowledgeable of such things, he felt emboldened to ask.

“An omen of death,” Shi Changxuan said in a low voice.

Xie Lingya observed from afar, and said, “Even though I haven’t been studying physiognomy for long, this person has the facial features of someone profoundly blessed—he doesn’t look like someone who would die young. Could it be an unexpected calamity?” There were too many things that he needed to learn. He had only vaguely read up about face reading and his focus had been on judging a person’s potential for cultivation.

As for Huang Jinyang’s question, they had no answer. People in the present day perceived those who approached them of their own accord to tell them that a calamity awaited them to be frauds. It was difficult to convince others if they didn’t share the same worldviews. In addition to that, the increasingly sophisticated fraud schemes these years also played a role. To this day, many still believed that Baoyang Temple had used some trickery to keep their temple mosquito-free.

It was a virtue to save a life, but it wasn’t so easy to save someone’s life these days.

They were still pondering over the matter when the headmaster, leading the group, headed in their direction. The headmaster exchanged a few words with the person with the big earlobe and waved at them. “Dear students?”

The three of them didn’t dawdle; they walked over and greeted Headmaster Mi.

Headmaster Mi asked, “What is your major, students?”

Shi Changxuan and Huang Jinyang answered that they were from the Religious Studies at the Philosophy Department. Through a silent exchange of glances with Shi Changxuan, Xie Lingya agreed to refrain from saying that he was a graduate, and instead, he claimed to have come to meet some friends.

Shi Changxuan and Huang Jinyang were still studying at Quedong College. To speak of matters pertaining to the supernatural to Big Earlobe was inappropriate, so Xie Lingya was careful with his choice of words.

At this moment, Big Earlobe gently asked them a few questions, claiming to be their alumnus,  having graduated from Quedong College as well. The questions he asked were all related to the quality of life in the school while someone next to him was taking some pictures.

Xie Lingya listened as Headmaster Mi called that person “Director Gao”. He had previously guessed that this person was either a public figure or a businessman, and now he was proven right. Judging from their conversation, it seemed that Director Gao wanted to donate some money to his alma mater.

After they went through the questions, the headmaster said, “Director Gao, the students still have classes. Should we go to the conference room to finalize the agreement?”

Director Gao hummed in agreement. Just as he was about to leave, Xie Lingya called out to him: “Mr. Gao.”

Xie Lingya had purposely refrained from saying that he was a graduate of Quedong College. Judging by the way Headmaster Mi prioritized Director Gao, it was the right choice—even if he said something inappropriate, it would not reflect badly on the school.

“Hm?” The man looked back at him curiously.

Headmaster Mi also glanced at him, as well as at Shi Changxuan and Huang Jinyang, wondering what their friend was up to.

Xie Lingya held his breath for a moment and then, after a brief pause, asked, “Would you consider investing in a Taoist temple…?”

Shi Changxuan & Huang Jinyang: “……”

Director Gao didn’t seem to have heard clearly. “Invest in what?”

Xie Lingya: “A Taoist temple. Actually, I’m from a Taoist temple in the city, Baoyang Temple. We are an old Taoist temple built in the Ming Dynasty and the buildings are laden with centuries of history. It’s very appropriate for a startup…”

These years, there were many Taoist temples and Buddist temples in tourist sites that were backed by businessmen as their bosses. Everyone knew this in their hearts, so it wasn’t strange to look for an investor at all.

Director Gao also looked like he was used to it. He gave a faint smile. “My apologies. Personally, I am not a man of faith, nor am I interested in starting up in tourism.”

In reality, Xie Lingya didn’t know what sort of business Director Gao was in before asking; it wasn’t important either.

When Xie Lingya heard that he wasn’t religious, he knew in his heart that he had no opportunity to be straightforward. But he was prepared for this. He fished out a Spirit Official Protection Charm from his pocket. The charm had a plastic protective cover, which was custom-made and had Baoyang Temple’s address printed on it in the fine print.

Xie Lingya gave the charm to Director Gao, and said, “Thank you, Mr. Gao. I was in a hurry when I came out today and did not expect to meet Mr. Gao here, so I didn’t bring any name cards. Hopefully, you can keep this. If Mr. Gao is interested in the future, please come to our temple to have a look. As of late, our temple is quite famous in Niuyang.”

Xie Lingya had no name cards. If the charm had no address printed on it, he would have gifted it to Director Gao as a souvenir. This was, of course, because Director Gao’s personality looked gentle. Had it been someone like Chen Mo, he wouldn’t have used such a method.

The Spirit Official Protection Charm could ward away evil spirits, protect residences, or protect the person himself. If Director Gao was fated to die in an accident, perhaps this protection charm could help him. However, this was not definite. After all, the fate of a person could undergo many changes, as there were various factors contributing to it. Xie Lingya happened to have met him by chance and could only do his part and leave the rest to destiny.

“Quite famous?” Direction Gao calmly accepted the charm and even turned around to look at the others he was with.

A person behind him thought for a while and replied, “Ai, I think I’ve heard of it. My girlfriend had tea there before.”

Everyone’s first impression was that Xie Lingya came searching for an investor. At this time, at most, they would think there were indeed some business values there, and no one suspected anything else. In fact, they thought that it was quite an interesting thing. To have tea in a Taoist temple? It seemed like this Taoist temple had some interesting operations going on.

Director Gao laughed out loud as he put the protection charm into his wallet right in front of Xie Lingya, and said, “Although I have no interest at the moment, I will take a look when I have the chance. Hope your incense burns all the merrier.”

“Thank you, Mr. Gao.” Xie Lingya smiled coyly.

Headmaster Mi was smoothing out his hair at the side. Just now, he thought that this young man looked quite familiar. If Xie Lingya hadn’t mentioned that he wasn’t a student at Quedong College, he would have assumed he was one. When Xie Lingya smiled, Headmaster Mi thought he looked even more familiar but after some thought, said nothing.

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After Headmaster Mi and the others left, Huang Jinyang said, wholly impressed, “Teacher Xie, amazing how you thought of such a way!”

“I originally wanted to take his pulse and give him a session of fortune-telling, but he might think that I’ve done my homework and come with some ulterior motives,” Xie Lingya replied. “Especially when he does not believe in such things,” he added helplessly.

That makes sense, Huang Jinyang thought. Although he didn’t know why fortune-telling required taking someone’s pulse, any ordinary person who was pulled aside for this would think that it was a scam. Additionally, Director Gao looked like he was worth his weight in gold. He might have run into an even bigger scam.

They considered this a one-time incident and assumed that they simply had a chance meeting with this Director Gao.

When Xie Lingya reached the junction at the road, he waved goodbye to the other two. Shi Changxuan and Huang Jinyang resumed their classes, and Xie Lingya headed to take the subway.

There were many different kinds of shops next to the school. When Xie Lingya was passing by a boutique, he paused, and went in to take a look—he realized that this store sold doll clothes.

They came in large and small sizes and were quite beautifully made. Xie Lingya thought about how he had made a “shirt” by simply cutting a handkerchief and examined the tiny clothes attentively.

A single glance scared him. The more complicated ones were almost as expensive as adult clothes; even the cheaper ones were around a hundred yuan a set.

Xie Lingya took a look at a beige-colored male attire that was rather simple-looking. Although he didn’t know whether Pokeweed had a gender, he felt that male attires were generally cheaper. “Boss, do you have this in a smaller size?”

The young boss lady gave Xie Lingya a look. “How big is your doll?”

How big? Xie Lingya reached out with a palm to gesture. “This big.”

The boss: “…”

She found a box. “This one should fit. They’re all handmade by me.”

“Boss, you have such elegant craftsmanship! Then, if I buy a few more, could I get a discount?” Xie Lingya even started negotiating.

On the other side, Shi Changxuan started his class. He heard that fellow Pokeweed suddenly laughed out loud, “Hehe—”

Shi Changxuan: “???”

He looked at it twice and took it down. Maybe  Pokeweed was really a goof.

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Director Gao, Headmaster Mi, and the others were signing the donation contract. Everyone shared a meal together and there was wine on the table.

Director Gao waved his hand. “I won’t drink too much. When I go back tonight, my wife might give me a lecture.”

“What a loving couple Director Gao and Mrs. Gao are! How enviable!” Headmaster Mi praised and raised his glass. “Let us drink the last cup! Just now, they were the ones who toasted you, let me toast you once more.”

“Alright, alright.” Director Gao helplessly drank one more glass with Headmaster Mi.

When the meal was over, it was already midnight. Director Gao sat in the back seat and gave his wife a call, informing her that he was on his way home, telling the chauffeur to be swift on his way, and let the window down to let in some air.

After drinking to quite a number of toasts, Director Gao felt a little dizzy. He leaned against the back seat and closed his eyes for a rest.

He loosened up his tie and suddenly felt heat radiating from his waist. Due to the effect of the alcohol, his brain was slow to react and he couldn’t tell whether it was a real or imagined sensation because he hadn’t brought anything that could radiate heat. His phone was placed on the adjacent seat.

Because of this burst of warmth, Director Gao opened his eyes. Before he could fish out the thing from his waist, he noticed a person standing in the middle of the road right in front of the moving car. The chauffeur seemed to not have noticed them, as he continued driving without slowing down.

“Xiao Li!” Director Gao shouted. “Someone’s there!”

“What?” The chauffeur was puzzled and didn’t shift to the brakes. Director Gao panicked, and as they drew closer and closer, he got up and pulled the chauffeur’s hand over.

The car turned an abrupt angle, and in the split second, Director Gao had enough time to see that the car did still run into that person. At that moment, it felt like the car had run into a stone pillar, and the car’s rear swerved to the side with a bang, running right into the railing and shattering it, before it finally stopped on the muddy grounds right next to the river.

The airbags inflated; the chauffeur and Director Gao were unharmed. Director Gao only sustained a knock to his head. However, compared to physical injuries, they were more psychologically affected by the accident.

Director Gao was scared awake from his alcoholic daze. He quickly got out of the car, looking around on the road.

Nothing, there was nothing on the ground. No blood, no body, and the person that they’d run into just now had disappeared without a trace.

At this moment, the chauffeur also wobbled off the car, his hand still shaking intensively. He told Director Gao with a pale face, “Just now, why did it seem like I ran into something…”

Director Gao’s expression sank. He turned around and asked, “You didn’t see anything just now?”

The chauffeur recalled how the director said there was someone, and his expression got uglier. “See-see what?”

In the dark, the two people couldn’t utter a word for a while. Director Gao’s expression changed a few times, and finally, he said, “Go call someone!”

The chauffeur quickly turned around and fished out his phone.

Director Gao stood a distance away and thought for a moment before he slowly took out his wallet. When he was sitting just now, his wallet was sandwiched at his waist. After he opened up the thin flap, other than a few cards and some cash in his wallet, there was a protection charm in a plastic cover.

Under the yellow street lights shining over the wallet, one could see that the fresh crimson streaks of the protection charm seemed to have dulled a little.

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Xie Lingya dressed Pokeweed in the tiny clothes. He bought these yesterday but because Pokeweed was different from the standard dolls, there were some places that didn’t quite fit.

Xie Lingya had to use his own limited skills to alter some places, narrowing the too-wide parts. Finished, he put the clothes on Pokeweed.

Shi Changxuan looked at Pokeweed coldly from the side. Although there was no expression on its face, and neither was it next to his ear, he could imagine that fellow Pokeweed mumbling something.

“Alright.” Xie Lingya helped Shi Changxuan pin Pokeweed on his collar.

Zhang Daoting came in at this moment, looking smug, “…Ai, other people are helping each other with their ties, and here you guys are helping to pin a doll.”

The scenario was far too beautiful. He couldn’t bear to look.

“Tying a tie? It should be a headdress,”¹referring to the headgear that Taoist priest wear Xie Lingya joked.

“Boss, someone outside is looking for you,” Zhang Daoting said in a hushed voice. “I paid attention, he came in a luxury car.”

“Please pay more attention to your image, you need to maintain your air of mystery.” Xie Lingya looked at him strangely. “Can you focus on cultivation? Let me take care of matters of this sort.”

Zhang Daoting: “……”

“Don’t make it a habit and behave like this in front of outsiders,” Xie Lingya reminded him again, before heading out with him.

The one looking for Xie Lingya was Director Gao. There was a bruise on the side of his head, but he seemed very calm and one couldn’t tell what he’d been through. He shook hands with Xie Lingya and Shi Changxuan.

“I came here especially to thank Mister.” Director Gao gave a slight smile.

He wasn’t a fool. After going back and investigating, not only did he learn about the popular incidents regarding Baoyang Temple that were being spread across his circle of friends, but he also learned of the incidents that most people didn’t know about, like Xie Lingya lending He Zun’s uncle a hand or inheriting this Taoist temple to start his own business. He knew about them all.

A Taoist temple like this did not look like one looking for investment.

“You’re too kind. What happened, Mr. Gao?” Xie Lingya asked.

Director Gao thought for a while before telling him about the strange incident that had happened the day before. He sighed and said, “I have a lot of friends who deeply believe in feng shui and metaphysics, and there have been many people who have wanted to ‘discuss’ such matters with me before, but I could not muster the interest for them. This time, it’s all thanks to Mister Xie.”

He took out the Spirit Official Protection Charm.

With a single glance, Xie Lingya knew it had been used. He took it in his hand, his eyebrows furrowing.

He had thought that it was an accident from the omen of joss paper hanging from the ear. But Director Gao said he had seen a shadowy figure. This obviously meant that he had run into a supernatural entity. However, Director Gao ought to be someone with profound blessings; how could he have gotten involved with such things? Or was this really just an accident?

Shi Changxuan was also observing Director Gao, and similarly noticed something amiss. Perhaps both of them had yet to grasp the full situation, but they had some instinctive feelings.

The smile on Director Gao’s face slowly froze. He came to thank them; logically, everyone should be happy, but their reaction made him uneasy instead. “Is something the matter?”

Shi Changxuan looked at Xie Lingya with a questioning gaze. Perhaps they needed to implement other methods to figure out the nature of this incident.

Xie Lingya also thought, why don’t they make a divination?

At this moment, from the side of Shi Changxuan’s ear came Pokeweed’s voice: “Neck hung by a linen rope, a hanged guest comes to the door.”

Before his owner made a divination, Pokeweed had already made a prediction.

Shi Changxuan’s gaze abruptly changed.

Xie Lingya felt his sudden change. “?”

Shi Changxuan’s lips twitched, reciting those words, “…Neck hung by a linen rope, a hanged guest comes to the door.”

Xie Lingya’s pupils suddenly contracted.

It was a death omen, another death omen!

A hanging guest referred to someone who died by hanging. A hanged guest coming to the door; wouldn’t that mean it was an omen of impending death?

As for being hung by a linen rope, Huang Jinyang wasn’t present, and they didn’t have their supernatural sight opened, but they could guess that most likely, there would be some marks on Director Gao’s neck. There might even be yin energy harassing him.

Xie Lingya looked at Director Gao in shock. Yesterday, he had joss paper hanging from his ear. He originally thought that the omen had been nullified, but today he had another death omen. This shouldn’t be happening. If it was just a single occurrence, then so be it, but if Director Gao had such ill luck, then it should have been impossible for his facial features to be of good fortune.

As Director Gao listened to Shi Changxuan’s words, he could roughly guess the meaning of it. His face had an incredibly ugly look. “What else would I be running into?”

“Director Gao,” Xie Lingya solemnly stated, “I fear this wasn’t just an accident.”

He told Director Gao that the reason they struck a conversation yesterday was that a friend foresaw an omen of death on him, but that sign should have already been nullified with the incident yesterday. Yet, he now had another omen, which was also a death omen. It was exceptionally illogical and extremely unnerving. In this train of thought, it would mean… there had to be human interference.

Director Gao felt a shiver down his spine, and couldn’t resist touching his neck. Although there was nothing there, he still felt uneasy.

A person who was able to reach a high position like Director Gao wasn’t a simple person. He calmed down and said, “Mr. Xie, since you helped me once yesterday, I trust in your ability to seek out the one behind this for me. Although I have no interest in investing in a Taoist temple, I am very interested in the culture of tradition and its arts, and I am willing to offer a golden statue.”

A… a statue of gold!

Xie Lingya’s breath hitched. The little money he made wasn’t even enough to give the venerable founder a gold-plating. It was good being rich; as soon as they spoke, they were willing to offer a statue of gold. However, it was still reasonable as this was a matter of life and death.

If Xie Lingya was still only considering it at first, after hearing of the reward, he’d give his all just so he wouldn’t be disturbed by the venerable founder at night!

Xie Lingya suppressed his excitement and said, “Thank you, Director Gao, for believing in us. To speak the truth, a lot of people think we are unreliable due to our age.”

Director Gao was unfazed. “I mentioned it before. You helped me once yesterday, so I trust you.”

Xie Lingya regained his composure. “Then let us discuss it a bit, and see what possibilities are there.” Protection talismans were easy to draw, but it wasn’t easy to find the person behind Director Gao’s incident.

Director Gao was normally kind to others, but being in the business circle, he would definitely have competitors. Nevertheless, it was difficult to think of anyone that hated him to the point of wanting him dead.

“As long as the person took action, they would definitely leave behind some traces.” Xie Lingya thought about the ghost shadow that Director Gao had seen yesterday, and made a decision, saying, “Something will definitely happen tonight. Director Gao, please live in a hotel tonight. We will also be there.”

This sentence also involved Shi Changxuan. However, judging by how Shi Changxuan didn’t seem to have any objections, he might also be slightly curious.

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Director Gao’s network of interpersonal relationships was too complicated. It was impossible to fully make sense of it. Xie Lingya decided to take a reactionary approach and wait for the other party to make a move first, then he and Shi Changxuan would be able to track them down.

Xie Lingya informed  Zhang Daoting of their departure, took his tools, and together with Shi Changxuan, headed to the hotel Director Gao was staying at.

Director Gao booked a large suite, with four additional bodyguards compared to the last time they met. He asked Xie Lingya and Shi Changxuan to disguise as his bodyguards as well. “That person is surely observing my movements. Yesterday, running into all of you was an incident he didn’t foresee. Perhaps he thought my luck allowed me to live through one omen, so he continues to scheme against me.”

Director Gao didn’t want to expose Xie Lingya and Shi Changxuan, for this would alert the enemy. It was a suffocating feeling to be observed in the dark by someone else. He was impatient to know who this person was.

After arriving at the hotel, Director Gao called his wife, saying that he was on a business trip and couldn’t make it home tonight. After he shut his phone, he smiled at them. “I couldn’t bear to worry my wife.”

Director Gao was someone who would make a gold statue for the venerable founder, so Xie Lingya generously praised him, “Such a good man, how nice you are to your wife! Men shouldn’t let their wives take risks.”

It was unknown why, but from inside the sleeve came Pokeweed’s deep sigh, “Ai…”

Shi Changxuan: “……”

—Because they had changed into black western suits, to avoid attracting attention, Pokeweed was also hidden inside his clothes. Although there was a little bump, it was a thousand times more appropriate than hanging a doll on his clothes. How would it look when everyone else had a walkie-talkie while he had a doll?

Until the night, Director Gao, Xie Lingya, and Shi Changxuan remained in the room with the bodyguards. Director Gao read some documents, watched some television, but one could see that even though he looked calm on the surface, his heart was uneasy, even though Xie Lingya had placed three protective talismans on him.

Xie Lingya was originally still in a good mood, but Director Gao’s mood had affected him. He held the Three Treasure Sword in his hand and paced around, but he felt it made him appear like a rookie. See how calm Shi Changxuan was sitting over there!

Up until midnight, nothing happened.

Director Gao’s bodyguards looked speechless, and even persuaded him, “Director Gao, why don’t you sleep a little earlier? It’s alright, there’s nothing scary about that thing. If anything happens, we will carry you and run. If they come in person, we would hack down everything that comes.”

Director Gao forced a dry laugh. “Hacking them won’t solve the problem… Sigh, Mr. Xie, what do you say?”

“Ah…” Xie Lingya awkwardly said, “Actually, I also intended to just hack down whatever shows up.”

Director Gao: “…..”

The bodyguard was pleased.“Is that so?”

“Mr.  Xie is just reassuring me.” Director Gao released his breath. “Alright, I will turn in first.”

I’m not. I’m being serious, Xie Lingya thought, but seeing how Director Gao squirmed into bed and slept, he said nothing.

Xie Lingya felt a little sleepy sitting on the sofa, so he washed his face and forced himself awake, then left the toilet.

“Aiya.” One bodyguard suddenly touched the bottom of his jaw, using his fingers to rub at it.

Xie Lingya glanced at him. “Did I splash water on your face? Sorry.”

That bodyguard shook his head and raised his gaze. “It felt like it came from up there. Why would a five-star hotel had a leak?”

Leak? Xie Lingya looked up too.

He had asked Shi Changxuan to open his sight to the supernatural. To avoid alerting the enemy, he didn’t use the Spirit Official’s Divine Eye. At his glance up, he saw, on the lofty ceiling of the huge hotel room, there was a woman who came out of nowhere. Her neck was bent bonelessly, her tongue hanging out, saliva dripping with a heavy sense of malice, falling drop by drop on the bodyguard’s head.

Xie Lingya felt his stomach churn. Damn it, this was even more uncivilized than spitting in public!

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Translator: Joan
TL checker: Darkchocolatesan
Editor: Miiya
Proofreader: Taalia, Eques
QC: Eques

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