A Tale of Encounters with Immortals: A Peach Blossom Temple in the Martial World

Suddenly, all three of them felt a strange sensation as if they were enveloped by a mysterious gas.

Zhang Zhengdao's most noticeable feeling was a sense of exhilaration and clarity throughout his body, much like after using a great sword. Every pore on his body opened up, releasing a joyful emotion.

However, Su Tang and Qing Yangzi are different.

Suddenly, I felt as if my whole body had come alive, and even every hair on my body was absorbing nutrients. Then, I felt completely refreshed, as if my bones had become lighter, and I floated gently in the pure energy.

Just as the two felt they had been reborn, the pure energy suddenly disappeared.

Quickly come, quicker gone.

Zhang Zhengdao also came to his senses. The comfortable feeling only lasted for a few seconds, which made him feel too melancholy!

"Master——"

Su Tang was overjoyed and rushed over, but steadied herself and didn't hug him.

"The spiritual energy has really revived! It's true!"

Because of the stimulation of this gas, Su Tang suddenly felt something inside her body about to flow out.

Her face flushed, and she turned around quickly, not even bothering to say goodbye to Zhang Zhengdao, and hid in her room. She then rushed out again, grabbed a bucket of water, and busied herself running in and out.

Qingyangzi was so anxious that he jumped into the water vat.

He had just jumped in with a "plop" when Zhang Zhengdao pulled him out.

"You unfilial disciple, this is everyone's water tank... How dare you..."

Qingyangzi quickly said, "I'll pay for it!"

Zhang Zhengdao loosened his grip.

"puff"

Qingyangzi fell into the water vat again.

Resurrection of spiritual energy?

Zhang Zhengdao did not believe it.

However, just now, that column of pure energy came from the sky and made him feel that his whole body was being tempered, but unfortunately, the time was too short.

Or... should I shout it again?

Looking around, I felt a little embarrassed; it would be shameful if I had nothing at all.

If one could truly summon spiritual energy with a single shout, wouldn't that make one a powerful being whose words could be law?

Zhang Zhengdao was still somewhat excited, even a little expectant. He planned to try it out in a secluded spot later. Having made his decision, he calmly strolled out.

Because of the large-scale construction project of the Taoist temple, Linbin Town is now very lively, with people even operating businesses at night.

Butcher Hu happened to be coming from the west end of the village, his clothes draped over his shoulders, humming a little tune as he walked, his belly protruding, swaying with every step, looking quite content.

With a toothpick in his mouth, he nearly bumped into Zhang Zhengdao.

"Oh dear, Master... I was rude just now."

Upon seeing Zhang Zhengdao, Butcher Hu quickly greeted him, tearing off his clothes and hastily buttoning them up as he bowed and clasped his hands in greeting. Now that Master Zhang had become a major customer, how could he not be more attentive?

"You... came from over there?"

Zhang Zhengdao pointed towards Widow Tian with a puzzled expression.

Butcher Hu chuckled dryly twice, winking as he said, "Master, you are one too... I'll tell Widow Tian to put it on my tab..."

Zhang Zhengdao's face turned dark.

"Get lost, get lost, I'm going for a stroll by the river. Who's going there? I'm leaving..."

What bad luck!

Am I that kind of person? Putting it on his tab, haha. Back in the day, when I was on Earth, some bookstore owners liked to take me to places to buy Taoist scriptures and other books for the Taoist temple, and they never kept track of the purchases.

So embarrassing.

Upon reaching the riverbank, he looked around and then shouted to the sky, "Spiritual energy is reviving!"

A column of spiritual energy descended from the sky, bathing Zhang Zhengdao in a refreshing embrace. However, the time was too short, so he called out again.

This time, surprisingly, there was no spiritual energy revival.

Twice a day?

I reckon there's not much spiritual energy left in the sky; this is probably the limit.

It seems there's no point in trying today, so I turned and left.

Just as he left, a loach suddenly wriggled out from a crack in the rocks on the riverbank and plunged headfirst into the water.

This loach was right where Zhang Zhengdao's energy column had landed, and it had just covered it.

When Su Tang returned to the courtyard, she had changed her clothes and washed her hair. She was clean and looked much fairer, with very tender skin, almost as fair as Shu Baimei's.

Qingyangzi had already taken a bath, and the water in the tub had been changed.

It was Shu Baimei who replaced it.

Qingyangzi spent two taels of silver to have Shu Baimei clean the water vat and then fill it with water.

Shu Baimei hadn't seen money in a long time.

She'd been eating communal meals in this courtyard for a while now and was tired of it, but she didn't have the money to go to the town's streets to buy some snacks. So when Qingyangzi took out two taels of silver, she didn't hesitate and said, "Drink it!"

Zhang Zhengdao was disgusted.

"Don't use the water from this tank for cooking anymore!"

After saying that, he went to his room.

The female corpse sat with her eyes closed in the room, only opening them briefly to look at Zhang Zhengdao when he entered. Then she closed her eyes again.

Luckily, it was a corpse and didn't know fatigue.

It's been almost going crazy these days, tracking the white-haired mouse.

Even when a child like Qingyangzi went to the outhouse, they would search inside, which terrified Qingyangzi so much that he almost held back his urine on the spot.

"We don't need to look for that rat anymore!"

Zhang Zhengdao said.

The female corpse stared at Zhang Zhengdao without saying a word.

Zhang Zhengdao knew it was holding its breath, so he poked its forehead with his finger and said, "It's nothing serious. It's just a human skin. If it's gone, it's gone. I don't rely on human skin to put on a show."

The female corpse stood up and stood facing the door panel against the wall.

They're actually angry?

When the female corpse gets angry, she punishes herself. This time, she probably wants to stand there and die!

Zhang Zhengdao was too lazy to care, and couldn't care less.

If you call it a corpse, it can still hop around, talk, and have a temper. If you call it a person, it can go without food or water, yet still be full of energy, rummaging through rocks and searching for caves.

I guess that rat was either scared to death or ran far away long ago.

The female corpse had thoroughly disturbed the soil in the corner of the wall. This led Sun Zhenjian to believe that the parapet was about to be torn down and rebuilt, and he sent people over several times to inquire about it.

He provided the money and manpower; it was just a matter of Zhang Zhengdao saying a word.

That evening, Supervisor Sun came over in person.

Since Zhang Zhengdao was staying at his house, he naturally had to give him face and asked Shu Baimei to serve tea. The two sat in the living room and drank together.

"I heard from the Master that he will personally perform a ritual to pray for my mother's birthday. I am extremely grateful..."

Zhang Zhengdao said, "Gratitude is one thing, but after all, we still need to charge a fee for holding a ritual to pray for blessings. It's not that I want your money, but the one presiding over it is my eldest disciple. His ritual has now learned the essence of my teachings."

It was a bit disappointing that it wasn't hosted by a real person.

However, it would be quite prestigious to promote it in the name of Peach Blossom Temple.

After all, when the emperor came, although he was after Master Zhang, no matter how powerful Master Zhang was, he was still a member of the Peach Blossom Temple. Psychologically, it was still acceptable.

After chatting about everyday things for a long time and drinking two pots of tea, the two finally settled on a price of two hundred taels of silver.

Sun Zhenjian took his leave, satisfied.

Two hundred taels of silver was unimaginable in the past.

The benefits of the emperor's personal presence are actually quite significant.

At this moment, Zhang Zhengdao realized that he might be facing an immense fortune.

With the emperor's backing, there's no need to worry about high-ranking officials not spending more money to hire their own teams. As for the ordinary people of Linbin Town, the prices remain the same.

One tael and five mace of silver was the price for holding the goods.

Now that we're making more money, it's not impossible not to charge money, but the problems that come with not charging money are too great.

Therefore, the price is fixed.

After Sun Zhenjian left, Qingyangzi peeked over cautiously.

“Master, I overheard the negotiation just now. I think two hundred taels is a bit too little?” Qingyangzi urged, “After all, the emperor himself came to visit you. Even the emperor has to address you as ‘True Man’ in person. Your status and position are very respectable. Two hundred taels... really is not worthy of your status.”

This eldest disciple is indeed clever, but he's still just a child and doesn't understand the rules of society.

"Money isn't really important. What's important is that we're going to go for the high-end market from now on, while also keeping an eye on the lower-end market."

Qingyangzi scratched his head, somewhat puzzled.

Zhang Zhengdao didn't explain, but said, "You'll be hosting the old lady's birthday banquet in a few days."

Upon hearing this, Qingyangzi immediately perked up.

“Then… I will give all two hundred taels to my master as a token of my respect.”

Zhang Zhengdao glanced at him and patted his head.

"You're a sensible child after all. Here's what we'll do: I won't let you work for nothing. I'll give you two taels of silver after you're done."

Qingyangzi curled his lip, thinking it would be better not to give it to him at all.

Zhang Zhengdao sighed, "Back then, I could hold a ceremony for five qian of silver. Now, if I give you two taels of silver, you've already reached the peak right from the start. Besides, I still have to share some with the others."

It's not like Qingyangzi is performing a solo act; Shu Baimei also needs to help. Just give her a tael of silver.

Girls tend to spend money recklessly when they have too much.

Xiaoyaozi will also be involved; he's an elder within the sect, so whether he gets paid or not is up to him.

What is freedom and ease?

Despising the powerful and wealthy, regarding money as dirt, devoting oneself to the great cause of Taoist cultivation, and pursuing the ultimate goal of immortality, how could one have the mood to spend money?

Is the food at the temple bad, or is it that the temple doesn't provide clothes?