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

If Zhang Zhengdao hadn't discovered the white light in the child's ancestral aperture, he would have definitely thought it was a form of mental illness.

Cases like this are called dissociative identity disorder in modern times, a mental illness characterized by symptoms of identity impairment. It falls under the category of mental illness.

In modern times, you can see a psychologist.

To put it bluntly, he's mentally ill.

Zhang Zhengdao changed his mind because of the light in his ancestral aperture.

There are precocious people, and quite a few at that, but it's quite rare to find someone whose ancestral aperture has been forcibly stuffed with something indescribable.

This is tantamount to forcibly altering the child's cognition and brain development.

If this happened on Earth, I'd at least prescribe some paroxetine, an antidepressant, for him to take.

Instead of enjoying a proper childhood, they're learning to chant scriptures like others.

Zhang Zhengdao asked the child, "Why do you serve Buddha?"

Child: "Buddha saves all people."

Zhang Zhengdao: "How can we save them?"

The child said, "The Buddha said, 'To take the suffering of all beings as one's own is compassion; all phenomena are empty, but cause and effect are not empty—this is the law of cause and effect...'"

Zhang Zhengdao said, “The Buddhas enshrined in temples are plump and fat, while those who worship them often look hungry. The people suffer, but the Buddha does not. This is the cycle of cause and effect. How can those who suffer in this life know whether they did evil in their past lives?”

Child: "It's all preordained."

Zhang Zhengdao laughed loudly: "Are there many people suffering in this world?"

Child: "Many!"

Zhang Zhengdao said, "Then in his previous life, he must have been an evil person who committed countless evil deeds, with more wicked people than good people."

The child hesitated for a moment, then said, "Exactly."

Zhang Zhengdao couldn't help but laugh again: "What about the life before that? And the life before that? How many good people are left? If good people no longer exist, then what kind of people are the ones who are now enjoying good fortune and blessings in this world, and who are they reincarnated from?"

Child:……

"I'm only four years old!"

Zhang Zhengdao couldn't hold it in any longer; he now realized he was only four years old!

"Layman He, you've raised a fine son, haha..."

He Zhongzheng gave a wry smile.

The child looked confused, glancing at Zhang Zhengdao and then at He Zhongzheng: "Father, I want to practice Buddhism."

Zhang Zhengdao snatched the Buddhist scripture from his hand and slapped it down on his head.

"clap clap"

I hit him on the back of the head three times. It wasn't because I wanted to hit him around midnight; I just wanted to hit him.

"gone!"

Zhang Zhengdao walked out gracefully, his hands behind his back.

He Zhongzheng followed Zhang Zhengdao away, instructing his servant, "Keep a close eye on things."

He followed Zhang Zhengdao out of the courtyard and into the central courtyard. Zhang Zhengdao stopped and turned to He Zhongzheng, saying, "Layman, you may investigate the background of that old monk."

“I checked. There’s a White Lotus Temple on Qiufu Mountain in Lingzhou Prefecture. Someone said they’d been there. I sent someone to check, but they didn’t see the old monk from that day. They didn’t know his Dharma name either, and his face was a bit blurry, so they couldn’t recognize him.”

Zhang Zhengdao said, "In that case, I can go on your behalf."

He Zhongzheng was overjoyed: "Thank you very much. I will reward you handsomely after the matter is accomplished."

Zhang Zhengdao nodded with a smile, displaying an air of superiority.

All I care about is this attitude; the amount of money doesn't matter.

After saying goodbye, he made a special trip to the temple fair area.

The Taoist priest was still surrounded by a large crowd who were unaware of the truth, and his business was booming.

However, Zhang Zhengdao scoffed at this time, showing no jealousy whatsoever.

How much does this cost?

One person costs five coins.

People need to stand tall to see far. High-end clients generate high-end profits—this person doesn't understand. What a waste of such a good deceptive…marketing tactic.

On the way back to the inn, we passed a restaurant, went in, and sat down for a casual meal upstairs. We ordered wine and dishes and sat and drank slowly. Following the typical setup from the martial arts novels I used to read, I sat by the window.

Then a group of people came up from the restaurant.

They're either carrying swords or machetes at their waists, or wielding clubs or hammers—they're obviously gangsters. Just like modern-day thugs, who doesn't have blond or green hair as a standard accessory?

The most outrageous one was a skinny guy who was shirtless and covered in tattoos on his chest and arms. He was not only skinny, but also short.

With a "whoosh," he sat down on the table next to Zhang Zhengdao.

"Add three more chairs!" the skinny, tattooed man shouted.

The waiter rushed over to add a chair.

Then, throughout the entire meal, I heard the people at the next table bragging non-stop for the whole afternoon.

"The Chunqing Opera Troupe will be performing at the City God Temple the day after tomorrow. The stage is almost ready in the last two days."

"Is Qin Fangguan going or not?"

"What's there to see if she doesn't go..."

"Her skin is so fair, and her figure is so good..."

"Even if I get stabbed while sleeping with someone, it's worth it!"

……

Sure enough, restaurants are the best places to spread news. Last time, when I was at Sun Zhenjian's house celebrating the old lady's birthday, I didn't have a chance to see Qin Fangguan. This time, I must go and see her.

He drooled as he looked at the group of thugs.

These thugs were just gangsters, not martial arts masters. After all this time of boasting and bragging, this was the only piece of news that really piqued Zhang Zhengdao's interest.

He went on to tell a series of ridiculous stories, such as beating up an honest man yesterday or stealing from his sister-in-law the day before. When he got excited, he would stand up, put one foot on the stool, and pat the tattoo on his chest, making a "slap slap" sound.

As a result, all the diners upstairs could see the tattoo on his chest.

Seeing the fearful looks in everyone's eyes as they dared not provoke them, they were naturally extremely pleased with themselves.

After eating and drinking to our last minute, we called out, "Waiter, the bill!"

Watching this group of strangely dressed, tattooed, and bare-chested people scrape together a few copper coins, a handful of copper coins, and a few loose silver coins to make enough for a meal and drinks, and then leave with hearty laughter, I felt quite moved.

Zhang Zhengdao had assumed that this group of people were going to dine and dash.

I never expected that, apart from his slightly strange behavior, he was actually a law-abiding citizen.

"You are all friends who have come from afar. The wine at Juxianlou is called Zuixianniang. It's not just the best in Lingzhou, but it's the best wine in Jiangnan. People from Qingzhou come here specifically to buy it..."

Just as Zhang Zhengdao was about to call the waiter to settle the bill, he saw a group of people coming upstairs and heading straight for the private room.

The person in the lead kept walking and kept talking.

He glanced up and saw Zhang Zhengdao sitting by the window. He ducked down, covering his face. Crouching low, he turned and walked downstairs.

So, for no apparent reason, the group of people followed them downstairs.

The man dashed onto the street and hurriedly ran back.

"What's wrong, brother?" A middle-aged man who followed behind asked, carrying a sword.

The man stammered, "Don't ask anymore, just go."

Zhang Zhengdao also felt that the person with the veiled face looked somewhat familiar, but he couldn't remember who it was.

Not caring, they paid the bill and went downstairs.

The food at this restaurant is quite good. Last time, when Sun Zhenjian's mother celebrated her birthday, he hired the chef from here.

After a satisfying meal, we read books in the inn.

I originally wanted to experience the leisure and entertainment culture of ancient times, but considering the cost, it might not be a small amount, so I had to give up. I'll wait until my business is thriving in the future, and then I can at least experience it.

Thinking about it, I really have a hard life. I was transmigrated into a Taoist priest in such a poor Taoist temple. No one helped me. I had to rely on myself to support the temple and slowly develop it to the point where the temple is doing quite well in Linbin Town. It has really not been easy.

Stop thinking about it, make money!

After reading the Taoist scriptures for a while, he took out a few other books he had bought from a bookstore in Lingzhou City.

They are all currently popular essays.

"The Scholar of Qingcheng Mountain Encounters a Fox", "Yin Susu Flees to the West Chamber at Night", "The Five Heroes Steal Pearl at Night", etc.

They were mostly folk tales and martial arts novels, as well as some books praising scholars and young masters and ladies' secret rendezvous. The writing was rather bold and explicit. Zhang Zhengdao flipped through them several times in the bookstore, but felt there was no need to criticize them, so he didn't buy them.

In this era, stories of talented scholars and beautiful women, heroes helping the weak and oppressed, and celestial couples were also popular. Therefore, such books sold very well, providing a livelihood for those impoverished scholars.

Some people who write well have even made a fortune from it and become full-time writers.

The night air still carried a sweet scent, which made me sleepy, so I leaned against the table and fell asleep.

In a daze, I saw a full moon outside the window, like a large silver plate, hanging high in the sky. A black fly flew out of the silver plate, and then the black fly slowly grew larger and transformed into the shape of a woman who was actually wearing clothes.

A woman in flowing white robes flew out of the moon like a fairy.

Zhang Zhengdao couldn't see the girl's face clearly, but he thought she was very pretty.

The girl floated in the air and then landed at Zhang Zhengdao's window.

A gentle breeze blew the girl through the window like a silken ribbon, and she landed on Zhang Zhengdao's desk.

Moonlight streamed through the window, and the girl's feet, resting on the desk, appeared as clear and lustrous as jade.

"Everyone says immortals are good, but they can't forget gold and silver. They only hate that they don't have enough, but when they have plenty, their eyes are closed in death. Everyone says immortals are good, but they can't forget their beautiful wives. When you are alive, they speak of love and affection every day, but when you die, they go with someone else..."

Zhang Zhengdao listened to the fairy's song and felt it was very familiar, as if he had sung it himself...

Isn't this the "Song of the End" that I saw on Earth?

How come this woman who came down from the moon can sing?

Is this woman also from another time?

However, she transmigrated to the celestial realm and became a deity in heaven, while I transmigrated to the mortal realm and became a Taoist priest.

We're all time travelers, so why are we divided into different classes?

Grab the fairy's foot

Looking again at the fairy's face, it went from blurry to clear.

"Are you from Qingzhou, Earth? I feel like I've seen you before."

Zhang Zhengdao said with delight.

"You're Manman, number 88 from Shuiyunjian, aren't you?"