I was forced to cultivate immortality when I just wanted to lie down

Chapter 249 Working for someone else, it's only human nature

Laotaishan is a place of high hills and ancient villages nestled in the countryside.

A long-armed red-tailed monkey was strolling around Guan Huapo's temple, holding a dragon-trapping staff in its hand.

Guanpo Temple is one of the branches of Cat Fairy Hall. It is in charge of all affairs of the temple and is responsible for all matters, big and small, of the entire Laotaishan area. Any demons or spirits in the vicinity, as long as they have some magical powers, will go to Guanpo Temple to burn incense and worship as a form of reporting.

They did this partly to seek the protection of the leader, and partly because the benefits of being part of the Cat Fairy Hall were too tempting. A group of little animals couldn't wait to catch Guan Dazhuang's eye and have him recommend them to join the hall, even if it was just a branch hall!
The red-tailed monkey had been traveling for many years and was unaware of what was going on. He still held onto his old ideas, believing that he could roam freely across all the mountains in Tianjin except for Yuehua Mountain!
Just kidding, it's a great demon who survived a lightning calamity and has six hundred years of cultivation. Even if there were tigers in the mountains, let alone if there were, it would still dare to call itself king.

As for the cat spirit that Bai Xiangu mentioned, it's just a little kitten. Let it go and cause trouble for the big cat first, and then go find that kitten and have a good talk about who will be in charge of Tianjin in the future!

Upon arriving at Guanpo Temple, the red-tailed monkey immediately spotted the tiger statue lying beneath the Guanpo statue in the center of the incense hall.

Hey! It's been years! This big cat's business is booming!

But when the red-tailed monkey thought of its desolate Monkey Fairy Hall, it suddenly felt utterly bored.

In just a few years, its monkey mountain has become the worst in the Xianjiaquan area of ​​Tianjin.

The world changes like the shifting sands of time.

The monkey was saddened, but due to its lack of education, it could not compose poems or say anything thought-provoking. All its emotions came to its lips, but only three words escaped.

"Ri Xie Niang!"

"This is illogical. I traveled to Zhongzhou for a few years, so why do I feel inferior to others in every way when I come back?"

I've heard that Zhongzhou is a land where Taoism flourishes, with hundreds of families having a long and rich history. Even the ancestral halls of immortals are ancient and established, with ancestral halls continuing the lineage and the steles used to mark the path of the immortals.
Unlike the makeshift troupe in Tianjin, which is a chaotic mess with no one in charge.

Run went to Zhongzhou to become Runhou, a red-tailed monkey, while criticizing the immortals in Tianjin, staring at the incense in Guanpo Temple with red eyes.

Even the grand temples in Zhongzhou don't have the pure incense offerings here. How did this big cat manage to steal all the incense offerings?

Why would those difficult people be willing to come here to burn incense from the bottom of their hearts?
The red-tailed monkey jumped onto the offering table and sat down rudely at the feet of Granny Guanhua.

Pick up an offering fruit, wipe it casually in your pocket, take a bite, and your mouth will be filled with saliva.

The red-tailed monkey ate the offering fruit, stroking the tiger statue's large head with its other hand, and bared its teeth, saying, "Big tabby cat, don't hide anymore, your monkey grandpa is back. From now on, this Xijing Mountain has a leader!"

The red-tailed monkey, relying on its superior skills and having bullied many small animals on various mountains in Tianjin in the past, is now back and is determined to establish its authority by finding the mountain king.
As soon as the monkey finished speaking, a burly man in yellow robes walked out from behind the incense hall.

"Fellow Daoist Hou, it's been a long time."

Guan Dazhuang clasped his hands in a respectful gesture, neither humble nor arrogant, unlike before when he would yield and back down in the face of trouble.

He was a well-mannered demon. Granny Guan taught him manners and how to behave appropriately, but even the most well-mannered demon has a temper.

Now he is the head immortal of the circle hall, and his words and actions represent the face of the Cat Immortal Hall. If he loses face to this monkey today, how will he face the sect leader immortal in the future?

Countless demons covet the branch halls of the Cat Fairy Hall. If he doesn't perform well, many demons will volunteer themselves.

"Tsk, it's been years, Brother Guan, and you've even started speaking like a human again! What, you've gone off to be someone's servant with that little cat too?"

Guan Dazhuang frowned, displeased, and said, "I was raised by Granny Guan since childhood; she treated me no differently than her own mother. Headmaster Xu led me into the sect and guided my cultivation. Not only did he lend a helping hand to save me and my brothers in times of danger, but he also rebuilt the temple for me, giving me hope for the future. Headmaster Xu is more than an elder brother to me; he is also my teacher. It's understandable that Fellow Daoist Hou cannot appreciate this, and I won't hold it against him. But please don't say such rude and offensive things again."

What do you mean by saying I can't understand, but it's understandable?

Monkeys are quick-witted, especially those that have become intelligent.

The red-tailed monkey instantly realized that the other person was implying it had no mother to care for it, no brothers to look after it, and no teacher to teach it.
Hey! It's been years, how come this big tabby cat has learned to scold monkeys?

That's pretty cool!

The red-tailed monkey raised the Dragon-Binding Staff in its hand, jumped off the offering table, and freed up one of its long-haired hands to grab Guan Dazhuang's collar.

However, the next moment, the Dharma realm of Guan Huapo Mountain Lord Temple unfolded, and tens of thousands of incense sticks appeared directly in Guan Dazhuang's hands.

"If you want to fight, I'll gladly oblige! Although my cultivation is inferior to yours, I have the protection of incense offerings. At worst, I'll work for free for two years and use all the merits and incense offerings I've accumulated on Fellow Daoist Hou. In short, I can't let down the prestige of my Cat Immortal Hall!"

"Two years? You're saying you accumulated 100,000 incense offerings in two years?"

"This is the performance record for two years, and the incense offerings personally distributed by the sect leader. Stop talking nonsense! If you want to fight, then fight. We'll go find a mountain stronghold. At worst, we'll lose a tiger's life. When the sect leader returns, he will take care of things for me."

"."

The red-tailed monkey shook its head like a rattle-drum, saying, "I won't fight your gang. Take back your incense and let's settle this with our skills. I won't bully you; I'll give you three moves first. I won't take your life; at most, you can carry me around."

Guan Dazhuang frowned and said:

"What good is fighting in this year! Can you escape the three calamities or the five tribulations? You were able to avoid the lightning calamity only because the monkeys and their descendants of the Monkey Immortal Hall harvested grain and fruit for people, accumulating incense offerings for over a hundred years. Without these incense offerings, would you be standing here?"

"Shut up! Don't say another word! If you say another word, I'll really hit you!"

The red-tailed monkey was embarrassed. What's wrong with it working for someone at Monkey Fairy Hall? What's the point of bringing up these old stories?
I harvest grain and fruit for others, cut grass and feed cattle for others, what's it to you?

"Fellow Daoist Hou, don't rush off."

"Fuck away!"

"You can't just eat the offered fruit for free; you have to burn incense before you leave."

"."

"You still want to earn my offerings?" The monkey patted his body, finding not a single copper coin, and finally tossed his corrugated hat to Guan Dazhuang.

"Just you wait! Once my Monkey Immortal Hall is rebuilt, who will remember your Cat Immortal Hall and Tiger Immortal Hall?"

Watching the red-tailed monkey leave Guanpo Temple, Guan Dazhuang finally breathed a sigh of relief. Thankfully, he hadn't embarrassed the sect leader.

Guan Dazhuang paid no attention to the harsh words spoken by the red-tailed monkey.

Tianjin is a very complicated place. You can't rely on enthusiasm alone. You need to have the means, the background, and a good leader.

Master Xu has connections; he knows not only the county magistrate but also his neighbors, who are all officials. His Guan Po Temple and the Cat Fairy Hall, managed by the Master and the Hall Master, now have official documents backing them—they are legitimate temples officially conferred titles by the imperial court.

The monkeys don't even have a proper shamanic act, how can they compete with the Cat Fairy Hall?

What a joke!

Qianzhou, Shangfu.

After dealing with the matter at Yunmeng Mountain, Xu Qing went to Cizhao Temple to offer some humanitarian care to the monks.

He's a zombie, and zombies are dead people. So it's natural for dead people to send paper figures, coffins, wreaths, and the like. That makes perfect sense.

Among the revolving lanterns depicting the monks, Xu Qing paid special attention to the past of Monk Xinyuan.

The monk Xinyuan said that his destiny to become a monk was in the bright moon, and Yuan Gong happened to have once taken on a monk as a disciple. Xu Qing found it hard not to suspect that the two were connected.

It might even be the same person.

Unfortunately, he did not find an answer that could confirm all of this.

Since no clues could be found at Cizhao Temple, Xu Qing traveled to Qianzhou Prefecture and planned to visit Ning County to see the county magistrate who had given him the map of Baiyun Cave and acted as a matchmaker for the Holy Maiden.

Passing through the prefectural city again, Xu Qing made a detour to the Shang residence. Shang Shaoyang and Miss Gu were now inseparable, and for the time being, they had given up on the idea of ​​making enemies of the world and carrying out major reforms.

Indeed, the land of gentle pleasures is the graveyard of heroes.

Before leaving after visiting Shang Shaoyang, Xu Qing asked, "Was the congratulatory gift I gave you useful?"

"Gift?"

Xu Qing asked in surprise, "I gave Brother Shang a secret manual. Didn't Brother Shang know about it?"

"A secret manual?" Shang Shaoyang asked in confusion, "What secret manual?"

Xu Qing glanced at the little girl sitting quietly beside him, her eyes fixed on the two of them talking.

"A book of sages and saints!"

Xu Qing spoke with great certainty.

Shang Shaoyang made a note of this matter. After Xu Qing left, he found the accountant who had collected the congratulatory gifts. After he told him about the book of sages, the two of them went to the storeroom together.

"Young master, you may not know this, but the people who sent the gifts came from all over the country. The number of congratulatory gifts received by the manor is more than ten thousand. Apart from the people with important positions, the other gifts have not been shown to the master and mistress. It is normal that you are unaware of this."

“You can’t say that.” Shang Shaoyang shook his head: “Brother Xu is different from others. I originally thought that as long as he could come, it would be the greatest gift, but I didn’t expect him to send a congratulatory gift as well.”

"It's all my fault for not mentioning it to you back then."

While the two were talking, the accountant found Xu Qing's name on the gift list.

"Hmm? This gift?" The accountant looked at the handwriting on the gift list, somewhat surprised.

"what happened?"

"Well, it's nothing. Other gifts would be hard to find, but I know where this one is."

The accountant found a ladder, climbed up to the storeroom attic, and soon brought down a congratulatory gift wrapped in red silk!

"What kind of sacred texts are in here that you can remember them so clearly?"

The person who could manage the accounts of a merchant's finances was no ordinary person; he was well-read, no less so than a typical scholar who had passed the imperial examinations. Shang Shaoyang was genuinely surprised.

"Well, this is indeed a book. As for whether it is a classic text, you will have to judge for yourself, young master."

He can't very well say that he secretly made a copy in private, can he?

Of course not!
Filled with curiosity, Shang Shaoyang untied the red silk and saw three small gold-embossed characters on the book covered with strange runes: "The Art of the Bedchamber".

Turning to the first page, one is greeted by vivid illustrations that will make one blush, along with professional translations and annotations.

This is actually a dual cultivation manual that harmonizes yin and yang, and is as serious as can be!
"I thought it was some kind of sacred book, but it turns out it's full of filthy and disgusting things. Such immoral books should be burned!"

Shang Shaoyang's energy was unstoppable, and he seemed to have an attitude of being irreconcilably opposed to this book.

"Let me ask you, is this book truly a gift from Xu Qing?" Shang Shaoyang's face still held anger.

"It was indeed a gift from Manager Xu of the Jinmen Prefecture Coroner's Shop." The accountant felt uneasy and dared not be negligent, so he hurriedly opened the gift list to check.

"Alright, alright! You may leave now. I will handle this matter properly."

Shang Shaoyang coldly said "good" three times. After the master of ceremonies left, leaving him alone, he suddenly burst out laughing.

"Brother Xu understands me!"

Xu Qing was unaware of what was happening here, and even if he had, he wouldn't have cared.

What he understood was never Shang Shaoyang, but rather human nature.

(End of this chapter)