The prince's personal bodyguard

Bai Xinyin finally chose to convert to Taoism. The master's Baiyun Temple can hold conversion ceremonies on the first and fifteenth day of every month.

On April 13, Bai Xiyin and the others followed the master to the master's Taoist temple, Baiyun Temple. On the evening of April 14, Bai Xiyin fasted, ate vegetarian food, burned incense and bathed. The next morning, the master, who had attained Taoism, introduced him to burn incense and worship the gods, then bowed his head with fists, performed the three bows and nine kowtows ceremony, and kowtowed to the master, becoming a lay disciple.

On April 15th, Bai Xiyin's coming of age day, she converted to Taoism.

Bai Xinyin had originally called Jiu Ming Zhenren Master, and now the title was well deserved. People who converted to Taoism were not restricted by region, industry, gender, nationality, customs, etc.

Everyone understood that it was not necessary to become a monk to convert. One could also convert to Buddhism at home. It was called a lay Buddhist. Both male and female lay Buddhists could get married. Everyone was very happy that Bai Xinyin would not become a nun. She did not even want the master to give her a Taoist name. The master said that her Taoist name should be Gushan Lay Buddhist, so as to avoid having too many names and titles, which would be hard to remember.

Bai Xinyin felt a little ashamed. Was this all arranged by fate?

Bai Xinyin bowed his head and listened to his master telling him the benefits of converting to Taoism.

"…Ordinary people's names are recorded in the underworld, and they fall into the six realms according to their own merits and demerits. To escape the suffering of reincarnation, one must convert to the Great Dao. Relying on the power of the Three Treasures of the Dao, the sutras, and the teacher, one can escape reincarnation. Therefore, one must convert to the Three Treasures. After conversion, one's name will be removed from the underworld and recorded in the blue book of the Three Officials. From then on, all the merits and demerits of the Three Treasures disciples will be examined by the Three Officials, and the underworld has no right to interfere…Strive to get the protection of the gods as soon as possible, and strive to get the guidance of the wisdom classics left by the Buddhist saints and sages as soon as possible…"

The master explained each point clearly and logically, but Bai Xinyin only understood half of it.

“Once you enter the Daoist sect and become a lay Buddhist, you are a lay disciple of the Daoist sect. You must take it as your responsibility to serve, believe in, and protect the Dao, and wholeheartedly protect all the benefits of the Dao. You must have a sense of justice and the courage to sacrifice your life for the Dao. This is the most authentic and sincere belief, which will produce immeasurable Dao wonders and merits…”

Bai Xinyin understood that the main point was that he had to keep practicing and do just things.

After the conversion ceremony, the master asked Bai Xiyin to practice at Baiyun Temple for a period of time, and asked Bai Xiyin what kind of practice she would like to do.

Mountain, medicine, fortune-telling, physiognomy and divination are collectively known as the five arts of Taoism.

The mountain part is the highest and most unique skill of the five arts, so it is the first of the five arts. Its common skills include: eating bait, building foundation, mysterious classics, boxing, spells, etc. However, this part is the most difficult to learn and requires the most hard practice.

The so-called "medicine" is a method of maintaining health and curing diseases by using prescriptions, acupuncture, massage, spiritual healing and other methods. It includes Yang medicine and Yin medicine.

Common medical techniques for treating Yang diseases include: massage, acupuncture, prescriptions and medicines, etc.

The medical treatment for Yin diseases often includes spells, magic, spiritual healing and other methods. The representative ancient medicine has thirteen branches of incantation.

Astrology is a method of calculating a person's fortune and misfortune in life by converting the birth time into the stems and branches or the position of the astrological diagram. The method is based on the time of birth and the theory of Yin and Yang and the Five Elements. There are Zi Ping Bazi, Zi Wei Dou Shu, Qi Zheng Si Yu, and Gu Lu Ming Shu.

Compared with fate, divination does not require the time of birth. It is a kind of divination with a more random time. Its methods are also varied and flexible.

Physiognomy is the method of understanding the meaning of a person by observing his or her appearance. It is generally divided into three categories: the first is the physiognomy of heaven (astrology), the second is the physiognomy of earth (feng shui), and the third is the physiognomy of people. This is what a feng shui master should know.

Bai Xinyin was confused, and even Ah Dai beside him was drowsy from the smoke. When the master finally finished explaining, Bai Xinyin chose medical skills.

She was more proficient in Yang medicine, but she had never come into contact with Yin medicine. Just like taking elective courses in college, Bai Xinyin was very interested in this.

Bai Xinyin is a child who loves to study. After entering the Taoist sect, he began to practice seriously and planned to practice in the Taoist temple for three months.

Bai Xinyin rented a yard at the foot of the mountain for Zixuan, A'luo and others, and asked Qingyun and Jiuguan to go back.

The prince ordered them not to go back, and the two did not dare to go back. They could only stay in an inn at the foot of the mountain, going up and down the mountain every day, and still reporting Bai Xinyin's daily whereabouts to the prince.

The master gave Bai Xinyin two books, one was "The Thirteen Branches of Incantations" and the other was "The Secret Transmission of Taoist Magical Talismans and Spells".

The "Thirteen Branches of Zhuyou" records that Zhuyou is a school of ancient medical skills, that is, to explain the cause of the disease, without the need for acupuncture or medicine to treat the disease, it is a witchcraft treatment method. Bai Xiyin knows about this mysterious medical skill in modern times, but this magnificent treasure of ancient China has long been lost, and he didn't expect to see it here by mistake.

Bai Xinyin was very interested in this, so he picked it up and studied hard, and asked his master when he didn't understand.

"The Secret of Taoist Talismans and Magical Spells" is a book about Taoist talismans and incantations. Bai Xinyin flipped through it for the first time and thought that shaman dance was feudal superstition. It seems that he was too superficial.

Bai Xiyin learned that talismans and spells are called talismans for short, and are now used exclusively in Taoism. Their main function is to command ghosts and gods to achieve the purpose of warding off disasters, keeping away harm, suppressing and exorcising evil. A talisman is composed of pictures or texts or pictures and texts. Spells are used to encourage oneself, pray to the gods, summon gods and generals, exorcise ghosts and cure diseases, write talismans and perform rituals, and are used by practitioners to visualize and guide their practice. Most of them are composed of four or six sentences of rhyme, and some are a Sanskrit spell.

There are also a large number of spells that are "without talismans", that is, only the spell is recited without drawing talismans.

I also learned that talismans and spells are so widespread that there are talismans in life. You can see talismans when you get up, brush your teeth, wash your face, eat, and dry your clothes. In Taoist practice, talismans are the secret magic weapon that communicates between people and gods, so they cannot be drawn casually. Therefore, there is a saying that "If you don't know how to draw talismans, you will make ghosts and gods laugh; if you know how to draw talismans, you will make ghosts and gods scream."

There are hundreds of ways to draw talismans. Some require pinching fingers and concentrating on letting the spirits come to you, while others require walking on the ground with magic circles and chanting spells... Even the laying of paper, grinding ink, and the use of the brush are very particular. Bai Xinyin is good at calligraphy, so he practices drawing for fun when he has nothing to do.

The master told Bai Xinyin that the best time to draw the talisman is at midnight or 11:00 p.m. This is when the yang is fading and the yin is growing, and when the yin and yang are intersecting, the spiritual energy is the heaviest. The second best times are noon, dawn, and dusk.

The Dragon Boat Festival is an auspicious day for drawing talismans and making talisman water, and most of the talismans are drawn and made on this day, especially for drawing talismans to drive away ghosts during the Dragon Boat Festival.

There are four days in a year when you cannot draw talismans randomly. If you draw talismans on these four days, not only will they not work, but they will also be harmful. These four days are the ninth day of the third lunar month, the second day of the sixth lunar month, the sixth day of the ninth lunar month, and the second day of the twelfth lunar month. In short, there are many tricks, but fortunately Bai Xinyin can understand them very quickly, and sometimes he can understand them very quickly.

There are nine Taoists in Baiyun Temple. Bai Xinyin watched them chanting and practicing daily, receiving pilgrims and tourists, and sometimes going down the mountain to help people with their Taoist skills. She felt very comfortable and planned to practice in a Taoist temple when she got old.

On the afternoon of May 5, the Dragon Boat Festival, Bai Xinyin was practicing drawing the Five Thunder Talisman under the ginkgo tree in the courtyard. She pinched her fingers with her left hand and waved the brush with her right hand: one stroke in the middle moved the world, two strokes drew the ancestor sword on the left, and three strokes drove the evil spirits thousands of miles away.

The first and second masters happened to pass by and saw it, so they came over to give some pointers.

"You are so young, and just entered Taoism, but the talismans you draw are quite good!" The master was a kind person.

Bai Xinyin said, I practice hard every day, okay?

"The painting is very beautiful, but I don't know how powerful it is. No matter how beautiful it is, it will be useless if you don't have the talent for inner cultivation or connecting to the spiritual world." The second master was telling the truth.

"Why not give it a try?" Bai Xinyin said. She hadn't tried the power of the talisman she drew yet.

A few days ago, I saw Master Wu, who was the best at drawing talismans, start a ceremony to draw talismans. He cleansed his body and face, and commanded the pen, ink, water, paper, and cinnabar. Finally, he burned incense and drew a few talismans, and asked some families to invite them to draw talismans. He charged one thousand taels of silver for each talisman.

Bai Xinyin was a little envious that she could make money by drawing talismans. She felt that she could draw dozens of talismans in an hour, but she didn't know if what she drew was useful.

“Then let’s give it a try!” The master also wanted to see if such a beautiful talisman could blow up a gust of wind.