The young Daoist knelt with perfect posture, thinking to himself: His master had just returned from abroad and had been conducting rituals for several days. He was resting in the back chamber—how had he suddenly risen to welcome honored guests?
He couldn’t help stealing a glance at Xiao Zhi.
The suit was crisp, nobility hard to conceal.
But that tied-back long hair?
Remembering the master’s overseas ordination ceremonies, was he a mixed-blood?
Then he observed his broad brows and clear eyes, solemn and gentle—not like a foreigner.
The young Daoist was stunned. His master was actually going to perform the grand kowtow of three kneelings and nine prostrations?
“Get up. What are you kneeling for?” The man in the suit bent to pull his master up. “Don’t want those old cold legs anymore?”
“Emper—Benefactor Xiao…”
The temple fell silent for a moment.
The old temple master slowly raised his head.
Yun Yi stared at that tear-streaked face and suddenly recognized traces of the old days in his brows and eyes.
She was startled: “You’re the young Daoist who taught me to draw peace talismans back then?”
“Miss Yun.” Qingxuan bowed tremblingly to Yun Yi.
“You transmigrated too?”
“This humble Daoist wandered the four directions. After Fuyun Temple was built in Xiao Family Village, this humble Daoist settled here, quietly awaiting the old friend’s return.”
“Then wouldn’t that make you a thousand years old?” Yun Yi muttered softly. “Temple Master, don’t go around saying that. Be careful the research department doesn’t take you away.”
“Pfft.” Xiao Zhi’s laugh came from behind her.
Yun Yi shot him a glance. “What are you laughing at?”
“Such a tiny brain, yet full of wild thoughts all day.”
“Don’t be smug. If you go around saying that, they’ll take you away too.”
“Hey.” Xiao Zhi grabbed her hood and tilted his head to whisper by her ear: “When you transmigrated to Yan, did I have anyone study you?”
Yun Yi said indignantly: “But you locked me up! I spent two days in prison!”
Five years later, she’d nearly forgotten this.
Xiao Zhi shut his mouth. The wise adapt to circumstances.
In the main hall, the Three Pure Ones looked down with kind eyes. Yun Yi devoutly offered incense.
“Thank you, Ancestral Masters.”
The wish she had made a thousand years ago had come true.
“Why thank him?” Xiao Zhi plucked away one stick of incense. “Thank him for fulfilling your wish?”
A stick of incense suddenly vanished from Yun Yi’s hand. Her dark, thick eyes rolled and glared over: “I kindly drew you a peace talisman. Of course I have to thank the Three Pure Ones.”
“What you drew didn’t seem like a peace talisman.” Xiao Zhi looked at the old temple master. “Qingxuan, the talisman you taught her to draw back then—what did she draw?”
Qingxuan was put on the spot. Under Xiao Zhi’s imposing aura, he answered truthfully: “Miss Yun drew a pig’s head on the talisman and said—”
“And said ‘stinky emperor pig-head.’”
Xiao Zhi: “Heh.”
Yun Yi: “…”
Time seemed to freeze. Only the green smoke curled.
When she came back to herself, the incense Xiao Zhi had snatched was back in her hand—he stood behind her, his arm reaching around, guiding her hand.
“Offer incense together.” His voice was deep and magnetic, striking into her heart again and again.
Four hands placed the fine incense into the burner.
“Benefactor Xiao.” Qingxuan’s disciple brought out a tray. On it lay a book more than half burned, its yellow-black cover still faintly showing the characters “Heavenly Revelation.”
Qingxuan knelt again, solemn and reverent: “The Heavenly Revelation Star Chart was damaged in the ritual array. This humble Daoist’s powers were insufficient and could not fully perform…”
Xiao Zhi was like a resigned leader listening to a subordinate’s lengthy report. He only told him to rise.
Beside them, Yun Yi got the gist.
The main point was that Xiao Zhi had issued a decree a thousand years ago. This matter should originally have been completed by Qingxuan’s master, Temple Master Qingyuan. Unexpectedly, Qingyuan fell suddenly ill and passed away. The position of temple master fell to his disciple Qingxuan.
And Qingxuan’s ritual arts were naturally not as powerful as his master’s. He set up the ritual array and attempted several times, all failures.
Finally, on the last attempt, he succeeded in sending Xiao Zhi to the modern era.
“This humble Daoist kowtows in thanks for the Emperor’s trust…”
Thud. Qingxuan knelt again.
The most shocked person present was the young Daoist. He suppressed his emotions, his eyes darting back and forth among the several people, almost leaving afterimages.
Xiao Zhi’s head ached. “Enough. There’s no emperor in this era. Stop kneeling.”
Qingxuan sniffled. “This humble Daoist wants to kneel and talk to you.”
“Do you want to defy an imperial decree?”
Before the words landed, the old Daoist shot up like a scallion.
Seeing the girl beside him keep circling her gaze around Qingxuan’s knees, Xiao Zhi nudged her arm with his elbow: “What are you thinking about?”
“Thinking of buying the temple master some glucosamine for his knees.” Kneeling back and forth—poor thing. Feudal thinking truly harms people.
Qingxuan brought over a pile of peace talismans, satisfying Yun Yi’s “talisman-drawing addiction.”
“Temple Master, the talisman paper is too soft. We need to keep up with the times.” Yun Yi said this after ruining her tenth sheet of yellow paper.
“It’s clearly Miss Yun…” The young Daoist was displeased. Everyone else drew fine—it was just this young lady who was like this.
Wasting paper—shameful.
These days, temples and Daoist temples were all commercialized, selling eighteen-seed bracelets, peace bracelets, and all kinds of cultural creative products.
Yun Yi was full of enthusiasm, holding up a yellow talisman and examining it left and right.
“Temple Master, how about making peace talismans into card material to hang on bags?”
The clear wind passed over the mountain ridge, curling up a corner of the talisman paper and bending the corner of her mouth.
The young Daoist grew anxious. The suggestion to commercialize Fuyun Temple had been considered when Xiao Family Village built the temple.
He said sarcastically: “And add a café—sell lattes and americanos like crazy. We Daoists can change professions and become baristas.”
The moment the words left his mouth, he sensed Benefactor Xiao’s eye-blade.
The old temple master said in a stern voice: “Xuanhe, kneel. Do not be rude.”
The young Daoist obediently knelt.
Xiao Zhi glanced at him: “Coffee?”
Yun Yi tugged his sleeve, afraid he’d seem unlike a modern person: “A bitter drink. You drink it.”
A light gleamed in the old temple master’s eyes: “Benefactor Xiao likes coffee? I’ll have Xuanhe go get a barista certification right away.”
Xiao Zhi lifted his chin: “She likes to drink it. Then go get it.”
“Y-yes…” Xuanhe braced himself and accepted his master’s command.
“Xuanhe, go behind the Three Pure Ones and take down the box.”
“Master?” Xuanhe’s heart pounded.
Behind the Three Pure Ones was a mechanism. Hidden there was an ancient box.
Xuanhe didn’t know what was inside. He only knew his master had instructed: “This box awaits its master. When that person comes, return it to its rightful owner. Only then is the karmic cycle complete.”
The sealed hall—even breathing felt anxious. Yun Yi walked half a circle around the Three Pure Ones statue and was grabbed by Xiao Zhi by the hood, pulled back to his side.
“What is it?” Her two arms swung like fans.
“Gold.”
Her pupils visibly enlarged.
Seeing the two temple master and disciple—one holding the ladder, one taking down a familiar box from behind the statue—Yun Yi was as excited as if meeting an old acquaintance.
“It’s the box from your bedchamber!”
This box was made of agarwood. After a thousand years, it hadn’t deteriorated. The quality was too good.
“Benefactor Xiao.” Qingxuan held the box reverently.
Xiao Zhi didn’t take it. He signaled Qingxuan to hand it to Yun Yi.
Yun Yi took the box and weighed it in her hand.
So light?
She opened it.
Inside was only a single key.
“…”
Where were the promised heavenly treasures?
She really wanted to throw a fit.
Xiao Zhi took the key and saw Yun Yi’s hair end tied with his hair ribbon. He reached out to ask for it back: “Return my hair ribbon.”
“Cheapskate.”
The cheapskate ignored her protest. His slender fingers flipped in a flourish.
In the blink of an eye, a hair ribbon necklace appeared around Yun Yi’s neck.
The key hung at her chest. Behind her neck was a small bow.
“Let’s go. You drive.”
“Where to?” Yun Yi lifted her feet to follow him, then when she reacted, cursed back: “Hey, I’m not your coachman!”
Outside Fuyun Temple, sunlight pierced through the bare ginkgo trunks. Xiao Zhi stood against the light, smiling at her: “Seems Driver Yun doesn’t want the treasure?”
Treasure?
“I want it, I want it!”
The master and disciple watched the two leave.
Xuanhe suppressed his curiosity: “Master, the morning lesson later…”
The old temple master rolled his eyes at him. “What morning lesson? I don’t see you this diligent on ordinary days! Hurry up and sign up for a class! Learn to be a barista!”
Xuanhe: “…”
The main gate of the Xiao Family Village ancestral hall was tightly closed.
Yun Yi pulled Xiao Zhi under the nearby spirit wall.
“The ancestral hall doesn’t open on Mondays.”
All around was quiet. Only the girl’s chattering voice.
“Why did you come here? To worship yourself?”
The moment the words left her mouth, she spat three times at the ground: “Ptoo ptoo ptoo.”
He asked with keen interest: “Why are you spitting?”
Xiao Zhi circled along the wall base and saw Yun Yi planted before the nanmu gate, desperately peering through the door crack.
“Look, your tablet is enshrined inside.”
“Tell me, is that auspicious or not—”
She tilted her head from the door crack. The man beside her vanished with a swoosh, like a stunt.
“…”
Yun Yi stood on tiptoe, straining to look through the door crack.
That guy had actually flown inside.
She’d forgotten he had martial arts.
“Hey hey! There are surveillance cameras inside! Be careful the village calls the police…” Realizing an ancient person wouldn’t understand “call the police,” Yun Yi switched her wording. “Report to the authorities—they’ll come arrest you!”
Xiao Zhi’s voice drifted over leisurely: “I came to see my own tablet. Is that a crime?”
“Isn’t this Teacher Yun’s daughter?”
A cool voice rang out, startling two foraging turtledoves into flight.
Yun Yi’s back stiffened. She slowly turned her head.
The village chief pushed a wheelchair over. In the wheelchair was the elder she had seen at the ancestor worship.
Months apart, Elder Xiao had grown thinner, but his spirit was even more vigorous. Seeing Yun Yi guiltily blocking the ancestral hall gate, he wasn’t surprised.
“Where is that friend of yours who wears ancient clothing?”
“He’s inside.” Yun Yi could only tell the truth.
“Oh? The door’s locked. How did he get in?” Elder Xiao smiled kindly.
Yun Yi scratched her head: “He walked in.”
The village chief promptly pulled out his phone and replayed the surveillance footage: “He flew in.”
“…”
Elder Xiao’s smile widened. He signaled the village chief to open the door: “Lai Fu, welcome the honored guest.”
The nanmu door slowly opened.
Facing the gate was a massive thousand-year-old locust tree, its withered leaves extending all the way to the black tiles.
Further beyond was the ashen sky.
The main hall of the ancestral hall was solemn. The tablet at the center was blocked by a tall figure.
The wheelchair rolled over the square brick paving, making a monotonous sound.
Xiao Zhi turned and looked back.
Behind him, a corner of a tablet was revealed—
[Tablet of the Xiao Ancestor, Lord Xiao Zhi]
Elder Xiao’s lips trembled uncontrollably.
The village chief grew anxious.
Elder Xiao was the oldest man in Xiao Family Village.
Recently, he had flown back from abroad and had been staying in the old family home in the village.
He said he was waiting for an honored guest.
No one knew who exactly he was waiting for.
“Are you alright?” Yun Yi asked quickly. “Village chief, should we call an ambulance?”
Amid the worried gazes, Elder Xiao suddenly rose and walked toward Xiao Zhi.
The village chief’s jaw nearly hit the floor.
Elder Xiao’s eyes brimmed with tears: “Ancestor… I have finally waited for you!”
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