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

The Four Heroes of Kunshan went to Peach Blossom Temple.

They came to say goodbye.

They decided to try their luck in the county seat or the prefectural capital, hoping to get a job as a yamen runner or some other lowly position. They wanted to end their life as street urchins and improve their status by becoming top-tier martial arts experts.

Say goodbye to Zhang Zhengdao before you leave.

The eldest brother, One-Eyed Dragon, cupped his hands and said, “We brothers will never forget the kindness of the Daoist Master. If we ever achieve anything in the future, we will definitely climb Peach Blossom Mountain again to recast the golden statue of the Daoist Ancestor.”

The lame second brother said, "If the Taoist priest has any orders, I would rather die ten thousand times than refuse."

His cultural level is somewhat lower than the eldest brother's; he can only speak some translated vernacular Chinese.

The hunchbacked third brother: "The green hills remain unchanged, and the green waters flow forever."

The crooked-mouthed fourth brother: "I planted this tree..."

"Snapped"

He was slapped on the head by the one-eyed boss. He cried out "Ouch!", rubbed his head, and looked at the boss in confusion.

The four of them cupped their hands in farewell and said, "Farewell!"

The four men held their heads high as they bid farewell to Zhang Zhengdao.

Zhang Zhengdao waved his hand until the four people were out of sight, then turned to look at the two behind him: "See? This is what people in the martial arts world are like. In the future, don't judge a book by its cover, and don't judge a person's character by their martial arts skills."

When the Four Heroes of Kunshan descended the mountain, they were filled with anticipation for a bright future.

The sunlight shone on their faces, making it seem as if all four of them were chasing the light.

"By the way."

Zhang Zhengdao spoke to the two women and the ghost.

"I might make a trip to Lingzhou City. But even though I'm leaving, business in Linbin Town can't stop. You all need to step up your game from now on."

Hu Yunying: "Don't worry, I can temporarily take your place and be the head of the temple. But I need the power to control the funds, otherwise things will be difficult."

Zhang Zhengdao angrily said, "The Taoist temple has income every day. You have kept good accounts. The expenses are all about food, drink, and sanitation. There are also clear regulations. What other right do you want to control them?"

He's only going away for a few days, yet he wants control over the funds.

This is an attempt to seize power!

Throughout history, whoever holds economic power holds the power of control. All income and expenditure require the signature of the top leader to be effective.

Zhang Zhengdao suddenly felt that people's hearts were in turmoil and the team was difficult to lead.

Guo Lanying, standing to the side, said timidly, "We won't spend money recklessly, but necessary gatherings, barbecues, various expenses at the Taoist temple, repairs, shopping, buying clothes..."

Zhang Zhengdao suddenly felt that he didn't necessarily have to go out.

"I've decided that it's better to stay in the Taoist temple."

Hu Yunying: "Taoist Master, aren't you going to repair the temple? Aren't you going to fix the road? The road is difficult to walk on, and people will think we're some kind of wild temple in the mountains!"

In the end, Zhang Zhengdao decided to go.

To get rich, build roads first.

The wise sayings of Earth are just as accurate when applied to this world.

“Five taels of silver is enough for the three of you to live on for a month.” Zhang Zhengdao took out five taels of silver from the jar where he kept the silver. “However, all daily income must be recorded and cannot be kept for personal use. The three of you will supervise each other… Every expenditure requires the signatures of all three to be valid…”

A sound financial system must be established.

Once the Taoist temple is completed, we'll recruit more staff. With a larger area and more people, and as things expand, without a proper financial system, we'll only become poorer.

"My lord, how long will it take for you to return from this trip?" Hu Yunying asked.

"It can take anywhere from half a month to a month."

"What should we do if a powerful enemy attacks the Taoist temple?"

This is indeed a problem. After all, the most prized of the Four Great Swords, the Moon in the Mirror, hangs in the Taoist temple and is a major source of revenue for the temple. It's almost certain that someone would covet it.

Some of the wandering knights were so poor they were practically desperate; these past few days, they'd been eyeing that precious sword with a gleam in their eyes.

If it weren't for Hu Yunying and Shu Baimei being there, they probably would have taken matters into their own hands and snatched it on the spot.

These people are very good at this kind of thing.

Zhang Zhengdao took out three talismans folded into triangles and handed them over one by one, saying, "If you encounter someone stronger than you and can't beat them, use these!"

"Thank you, sir!"

"Thank you, sir!"

"Thank you, Taoist Priest!"

Nothing happened that night. The next morning, after Zhang Zhengdao returned from meditation, he took his packed luggage, which consisted of a peach wood sword and a whisk, and prepared to set off.

The peach wood sword was tucked into the belt on his back, and the whisk was also clipped to the belt.

When the sunlight shines on it, it resembles the image of the Four Heroes of Kunshan facing the light.

"Keep a close eye on the money, and wait for me to come back."

Zhang Zhengdao said something solemnly, took a few steps, and then turned back.

"Don't waste money. If you can't spend all five taels of silver, wait for me to come back and settle the accounts."

After saying that, he turned back every few steps, looking somewhat uneasy, and went down the mountain.

Once they could no longer see anyone, the two people and the ghost cheered.

"Eating meat, shopping, buying, buying, buying..."

Hu Yunying let herself go.

"Drinking, singing, watching song and dance performances..."

The ghost woman, Shu Baimei, also flew away.

"That wouldn't be good, the Taoist priest would be angry..."

Guo Lanying said in a low voice.

"No tattling allowed! You must participate!" Hu Yunying glared at Guo Lanying with the authority of a master.

Guo Lanying lowered her head, suppressing a laugh: "Fine, you coerced me into participating."

Shu Baimei said disdainfully, "At such a young age, instead of learning good things, she's learning to be a green tea b*tch."

"Clap clap clap!"

Three muffled sounds.

Three figures took flight and landed in the peach grove. The three women crashed to the ground, scrambled to their feet, and stared at the furious man before them.

Didn't they leave?

Why are you back again?

Zhang Zhengdao pointed at them, his fingers trembling. He was furious and couldn't control his emotions.

"So that's why you were so eager for me to leave—you were after my money!"

Zhang Zhengdao watched as the three women got up and stood in front of him, heads bowed, sighing and lamenting like children who had done something wrong.

Lamenting its misfortune, anger is indisputable.

"Have you forgotten our original goal? To build a Taoist temple. Where do we start building a Taoist temple? We start by building roads! Does building roads cost money? Of course it does, it will cost a lot of money to build them properly."

"I was wrong!" Hu Yunying quickly admitted her mistake. "I promise it won't happen again!"

"I was wrong too!" Shu Baimei said for the second time. "Next time I promise to do my job well, dance well for the tourists, and contribute to the construction of the Taoist temple."

“I…I was forced…” Guo Lanying said timidly.

"Shut up!" the two women glared at them.

Zhang Zhengdao calmed down a bit and said to the three women earnestly, "It's not that I don't want you to spend money. Once our Taoist temple is completed and we're making a fortune, you can spend money however you want. But right now we're in the early stages of the temple's construction, and we're far from the point where we can only satisfy our material needs and not our life's pursuits."

Let me tell you a story!

Zhang Zhengdao let his thoughts wander, gazing at the blue sky and white clouds, and said softly.

"Back in the day, in a world called Earth, there was a pagoda called Leifeng Pagoda by the famous West Lake scenic area. Legend has it that the pagoda was blessed by immortals and gods, attracting many tourists. However, there was an abbot named Fahai who only knew how to squander money every day. Not only did he indulge in eating, drinking, and merrymaking, but he also kept two snakes, a white snake and a green snake. Keeping pets... how wealthy must a family be to afford that... let alone two snake demons with enormous appetites..."

The three listened with great interest.

Time passed gradually.

……

"From then on, Leifeng Pagoda collapsed. Why..."

Zhang Zhengdao posed a soul-searching question.

Guo Lanying immediately raised her hand to answer: "Because of extravagance and waste, because of a lack of thrift, the money will be squandered and not used to repair Leifeng Pagoda. In the end, Leifeng Pagoda will be dilapidated and hidden among the lake and mountain scenery, and will collapse due to years of disrepair."

If there were a scoring system, this answer would at least get a perfect score.

She really is my thoughtful little girl!

Zhang Zhengdao's gaze towards Guo Lanying had changed. She was the youngest, but the most sensible and understanding girl, the one who knew him best!

Hu Yunying and Shu Baimei almost fainted.

At the same time, he glared fiercely at Guo Lanying.

"What are your thoughts?"

Hu Yunying: "If we spend money recklessly, our Peach Blossom Temple may eventually collapse like the Leifeng Pagoda."

Zhang Zhengdao nodded solemnly.

Shu Baimei: "I don't spend money anywhere. I'm just a ghost. I even save on food, so what money could I possibly have? So this matter... has nothing to do with me... It's just that... what happened to Xu Xian and the White Snake in the end?"

Zhang Zhengdao looked at her with surprise.

Love brain?

Will you secretly take money from the Taoist temple to subsidize gigolos outside in the future?

After a few thoughts raced through his mind, he said earnestly, "What good ending could there be? They were all buried in Leifeng Pagoda together. This story also illustrates another point."

Three women were looking at him together.

"Once men and women become love-struck, they will commit heinous crimes and be suppressed by the Heavenly Court, blamed by Buddha, and suppressed by gods and Buddhas until the end of time."

Shu Baimei: I really wish I had a story as legendary as that.

He looked at the Taoist priest and felt discouraged again.

He's obviously a man who doesn't want to be buried under Peach Blossom Temple with me to die. I'm so angry!