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

Quan Laoshi was a man that Butcher Hu had always looked down upon.

But today, the father and son were thoroughly mocked by Quan Laoshi.

What bad luck on New Year's Eve!

He didn't dare to make a scene, otherwise he would embarrass himself in front of so many people on the street. He slunk into the house through the back door.

The father and son started doing it again in their house.

In the afternoon, the Taoist temple had absolutely no business. The three of them simply closed the temple gates and went down the mountain together for a stroll.

Zhang Zhengdao was eager to see what it was like for people in ancient times to celebrate the New Year.

According to the town supervisor's family who just offered incense, Supervisor Sun has hired a grand opera troupe and plans to perform it for three consecutive days in the square of Linbin Town. They say that there will be a lot of people doing business there, making it very lively.

This means telling Zhang Zhengdao to hurry up and set up a stall in the square, do some fortune telling or something, and he can make some money.

However, Zhang Zhengdao's views have changed.

Having gone through so much, making money is certainly important, but life isn't all about money; it should also include poetry and distant horizons. The distant horizons are gone; now only poetry remains.

Upon arriving in Linbin Town, acquaintances would greet each other with a cupped-hand salute and a "Happy New Year" or similar greeting.

Others were more direct, saying, "Get rich! Get rich!"

Zhang Zhengdao returned the greeting with a cupped hand and said, "May you prosper."

When we arrived at the square, there were indeed many people there.

Most of them were locals from Linbin Town, with a very small number of martial arts practitioners. Even when they were just joining in the fun, they didn't forget to carry a sword.

The platform where he had prayed for rain last time has been rebuilt and is now even more sturdy, with people performing opera on it.

It is said that the opera troupe was invited from Lingzhou City.

Since Qin Fangguan's death, the most famous opera troupe in Lingzhou has completely lost its reputation. Even if some actors try to imitate Qin Fangguan's style, how can one person compare to another?

As a result, the performance fees for several opera troupes in Lingzhou City were significantly reduced.

This is why Sun Zhenjian was able to invite an opera troupe to Linbin Town for three consecutive days.

Two women and a ghost sat on small stools watching the play, quite attentively, especially Guo Lanying, whose face was flushed and who clapped and cheered from time to time.

The emotional value is full.

Zhang Zhengdao watched for a while, then lost interest.

Ultimately, he lacked a settled Daoist heart.

Having practiced Taoism for so long, all I'm really is is a librarian who has read a lot of Taoist books; I'm hardly a proper Taoist practitioner.

However, his attire was still very much that of a Taoist priest.

He had everything: a whisk, a Taoist robe, and a peach wood sword.

A man went to Sister Gui's winery, but it was closed.

A little boy, who was eating malt candy and had a runny nose, was pushing a stick on the ground with a "choo-choo-choo" sound. He said, "Aunt Gui went to see a play, so we're not doing business today."

It turns out that some people really do not do business during the Chinese New Year.

Zhang Zhengdao was somewhat disappointed, so he went to stroll around the streets again.

Many households have hung lanterns, creating a festive atmosphere.

A few families also set off firecrackers, which went off every now and then.

I bought some trinkets, planning to give them as gifts to the two women and the ghost.

While passing by a jewelry store, I couldn't resist buying a hairpin.

It was made of fine wood, and the carving was excellent. It was polished very smoothly and looked very high-quality. Zhang Zhengdao touched it, wondering who he should give this hairpin to.

A small figure watched him from afar.

When Zhang Zhengdao turned around to look, he suddenly slipped away again.

Zhang Zhengdao smiled.

The beauty of the world often lies in its suddenness.

The opera performance lasted until dusk, and the two women's faces were flushed. Their faces turned red whenever they were emotionally agitated. The female ghost, however, had a white face; being a heartless ghost, she didn't blush even when emotional.

Zhang Zhengdao led the two men and the ghost back.

Walking along the mountain path at night, the three of them moved with a light and quick pace.

It's not that I don't want to use light-footed skills, but if the distance is very short, walking is more cost-effective.

We eat tangyuan (sweet rice balls) on the first day of the Lunar New Year.

Some people are praying for blessings.

Starting from the first day of the Lunar New Year, locals from Linbin Town have been going up the mountain to pray for blessings.

Zhang Zhengdao couldn't understand how the original owner of this body had managed to make himself so poor before he transmigrated. Did he use his incense money to support Liu Ruyan?

Fortunately, I'm relatively clear-headed.

It didn't stop until the fifth day of the Lunar New Year.

They collected a considerable amount of incense money, as well as some cured meat, vegetables, and fruits.

Because everyone wants to scramble for the God of Wealth on the sixth day of the Lunar New Year, everyone wants to get rich.

Zhang Zhengdao was somewhat depressed.

We're all Taoists; this is like having our business stolen.

On the eighth day of the month, the weather cleared up.

Zhang Zhengdao looked around and, since there was no business anyway, sat in the backyard and called Shu Baimei over.

Shu Baimei floated over and cheerfully greeted him, "Master!"

Zhang Zhengdao said, "Why don't you dig a pond?"

Shu Baimei was taken aback: You're sending a ghost to dig a pond?

Zhang Zheng led Shu Baimei to an empty depression near the peach grove outside the backyard, pointed to it, and said, "Start digging from here, no more, no less, let's dig a pond!"

"Sir, let me dance for you!"

Shu Baimei clearly misunderstood, thinking it was a disguised form of punishment.

I've thought through everything I've done these past few days, and I haven't found anything wrong with it! That shouldn't be the case, what's going on?

It was a little numb, but I still agreed.

Anyway, I'm pretty good at digging up and burying corpses.

He silently went back to carry the broken head.

On the way, they met Hu Yunying and said, "Master wants us to dig a pond. It's in that area. You bring Guo Lanying with you and try to finish digging it within three days."

Hu Yunying scoffed, "The master should have stipulated that the excavation be completed in thirty days. Only a sycophant like you would say it would be finished in three days. Heh..."

Guo Lanying also came over and nodded vigorously: "Master is right!"

"Three days, believe it or not!"

Shu Baimei gave a soft snort and walked away with her head held high, completely self-righteous.

"That woman is so stupid!" Guo Lanying said. "She keeps trying to please the master, just wait for the day she gets what she deserves from his bad temper."

Hu Yunying:...

Are you smart?

Originally, they only ordered a female ghost to work, but unexpectedly, Hu Yunying and Guo Lanying also joined in during the work.

What a harmonious and united family!

Zhang Zhengdao was very pleased.

I was originally planning to hire a few people from Linbin Town to help with the work, but now I've saved that money.

They worked on this until the fourteenth day of the first lunar month, far exceeding three days.

The pond is finished!

A late-stage Grandmaster, a late-stage Innate Realm expert, and a female ghost—they finally finished digging the pond, which looks quite large, almost two acres in size.

"It's done!" Shu Baimei reported to Zhang Zhengdao as if she wanted to take credit.

Zhang Zhengdao indeed praised her.

"Shu Baimei is a good ghost. She dug the pond all by herself in just nine days. She is hereby awarded this spiritual reward!"

This verbal praise already made Shu Baimei very happy.

Hu Yunying: "Master, Lanying and I dug too."

Zhang Zhengdao glanced at them and said, "My task is only for Shu Baimei. Weren't you two helping out? This favor shouldn't be attributed to me; it should be attributed to Shu Baimei."

"A female ghost—"

Hu Yunying gritted her teeth and glared at her.

"You are dead!"

Shu Baimei grinned: "What can you do to me?"

Hu Yunying: "I don't believe you'll spend every single hour of every day guarding that tattered corpse of yours. Heh... I'll show you what it means to bury a body with risks and to be cautious when digging one up!"

You can't beat the female ghost, but it's easy to dispose of her corpse.

Shu Baimei's face was already pale, but now it was even paler. Looking at Zhang Zhengdao, she said weakly, "Master, look at her..."

Zhang Zhengdao glanced at it and said, "This is between you two, resolve it yourselves."

After saying that, he gracefully turned and left.

Heh, palace intrigue?

You three little karaomis want to play palace intrigue with me? You're too green.

I'm someone who's watched both time-travel palace dramas from beginning to end.

An emperor cannot favor any side; when conflicts arise, each side must use its own methods.

This is Zhang Zhengdao's attitude.

When either of you is losing, you'll all seek validation from me, trying to please me and win me over. Palace intrigue is something that must happen in the harem.

An overly peaceful harem is a disease that needs to be cured; a harem where sisters live in harmony is an even more serious disease that needs to be properly treated.

Zhang Zhengdao ignored them, and sure enough, the two women started fighting with a ghost.

In the evening, Hu Yunying and Guo Lanying came over looking aggrieved, acting coquettishly and massaging his legs. Hu Yunying even came up with the brilliant idea of ​​letting Zhang Zhengdao do handstands by himself.

If Guo Lanying hadn't disapproved of playing alone, Zhang Zhengdao would have already sided with Hu Yunying.