How to become a Taoist priest starting from a brothel

"As expected of our city's renowned filial son." The clan elder looked at the young man with satisfaction.

The boy stood in the middle of the main hall, looking at the elders and listening to their praise. Even though he was extremely excited, he suppressed his emotions and put on a nonchalant appearance. However, he was still young, and the blush of excitement on his face was impossible to hide.

None of the elders cared about any of this; they only looked at the boy with satisfaction, their eyes reflecting the emotions of a craftsman admiring his most prized creation.

“Yes, eldest son, your eldest son has indeed done well. He should continue to do so in the future, so that Minghai can recommend him.” One of the older men, who looked more wealthy, said to the middle-aged man on the other side.

The man was the boy's father, and with a fawning smile on his face, he replied to the old man, "Yes, Third Uncle, I will teach Minyan well."

"Well done this time, now you may go back." The elders nodded and waved for the father and son to leave.

After everyone left, the three elders looked at the eldest elder sitting in the main seat and said, "Uncle, since Minghai, our clan has not had a single good prospect. Now you can rest assured. Minyan is a child with some talent, and I think he can be of great help to our clan."

The elder nodded: "Indeed, but you should also ask Minghai to keep an eye on things and make sure the banquet is not delayed."

“Of course.” The three elders nodded in agreement.

Minyan followed her father home, and once they left the ancestral home of the clan, her face was filled with barely suppressed excitement.

"Ahem." His father coughed lightly beside him. "Don't be arrogant."

Upon hearing his father's soft warning, Minyan stopped his cheerful steps, coughed lightly, and adopted the demeanor of a dignified gentleman.

Seeing this, his father nodded in satisfaction and led him forward, greeting his relatives with a smile along the way.

"Have you heard? The Chen family has produced a very filial son." The teahouses on the street are always the most well-informed.

"Which Chen family?" someone asked curiously.

"It's the Chen family from Xilin Village," the informant continued, showing off his knowledge.

"Xilin Village?" The curiosity wasn't limited to just one person.

"The Chen family, who produced a very filial son twenty years ago." The informant rolled his eyes at him.

"Oh, that Chen family son who's known as one of the Twenty-Four Filial Exemplars of our time?" Someone who knew him chimed in.

"Could it be that his family has produced another exceptionally filial son?" The speaker's eyes held a subtle glint.

"Yes, I heard his name is Chen Minyan, and he's an exceptionally filial son." The person showing off the information had a smug look on their face.

"Oh? What did he do?" Everyone was curious when they heard that their family had produced such a filial son.

What exactly did Chen Minyan do to make his name spread throughout the entire prefecture in such a short time?

Not only were the crowd curious, but even Liu Yin and her group, who were passing by, were also curious.

The one who boasted about the information drank a cup of tea with a smug look on his face.

"Hurry up and tell me."

"Yeah, hurry up!"

The man looked around with a smug look on his face, and then, urged by the crowd, slowly spoke.

"This Chen Minyan is truly an extremely filial son. After his mother passed away, his father remarried. His stepmother was not good to him and often abused him, but Chen Minyan was still very respectful to her. Last year, his stepmother suddenly fell ill."

"And then what?" someone asked repeatedly.

"And then..." the speaker continued, keeping everyone in suspense.

"Speak quickly, I'll give you a pot of the finest tea," a man urged repeatedly.

"Yes, yes, boss, bring a pot of top-quality tea!" Before anyone could answer, the man waved and beckoned the boss over.

Seeing the tea that he usually couldn't bear to buy being served to him, the person who spoke wiped his hands, quickly poured himself a cup, and then slowly began to speak.

"It's strange, they've consulted doctors and shamans, but his stepmother just won't get better. Helpless, Chen Minyan heard that there's an ancient temple on Nanshan Mountain with a thousand-year history, and praying to the gods is believed to be effective. So he said he wanted to be a filial son and go up the mountain to pray for his mother's safety."

"There's an ancient temple on Nanshan Mountain?" The locals all frowned, their faces full of confusion.

"This..." A hint of embarrassment flashed in the showy man's eyes, and he was about to speak in his defense.

An old man nearby said, "There really is one. It's called Tai Sui Temple. I heard that the first abbot discovered a thousand-year-old Tai Sui in this mountain, which is why it became famous. However, the temple is located deep in the mountains and has been abandoned for many years. I'm afraid very few people know about it."

Hearing the old man's words, everyone understood and couldn't help but agree with the matter.

"The Chen family has lived here for hundreds of years, so it's not surprising that they know about this ancient temple."

"Yes, yes."

"And then what?" Everyone turned their attention to the man who was showing off.

The man continued, “He lived on the mountain for several months and brought a woman down the mountain. The woman was extremely ugly, but she was very skilled in medicine. She saved the man’s life in just three days after they came down the mountain.”

"Wow, this is truly a miracle doctor!" the crowd exclaimed in surprise.

"However, even if he obtains a divine doctor, what does that have to do with his filial piety?" Some people, however, did not give him any face.

"That's not entirely true. Being able to go to the deep mountains to seek medical treatment alone can also be considered filial piety." Naturally, some people disagreed.

"Of course, that's not all," the show-off continued. "After saving his stepmother, the woman said that Chen Minyan had to repay her kindness by marrying her."

"This..." A subtle emotion appeared on everyone's face.

"How ugly was that woman?" some people asked curiously.

"Comparable to Mo Mu, surpassing Zhongli Chun," the show-off said with a deep sigh.

Everyone gasped in shock. These two women were already known as ugly women in history books. If someone were even uglier than them, how ugly would they have to be?

"Not only that, this woman is over forty years old and no more than three feet tall; she is truly an ugly woman." The show-off used all his knowledge to describe how ugly Chen's wife was.

"Could it be that Chen Minyan really married her?" Some people asked with doubt.

"He married her, not only did he marry her, but because she saved his stepmother's life, Chen Minyan is very loving towards her. Doesn't that count as filial piety?" The man nodded, looked around, and couldn't help but ask.

The others really had nothing to say at this point, since if this wasn't considered filial piety, they really didn't know what it meant to be considered filial.

For a time, everyone in the teahouse praised the Chen family's reputation for filial piety.

“Teacher…” Wang Yongxin frowned, feeling that something was wrong.

Liu Yin glanced at her, then gently shook her head, signaling her not to say anything more.

Seeing this, the other children looked at each other, then lowered their heads and drank their tea, saying nothing more.