Turbid World: Martial Arts Master of the Republic of China Era, I Cultivate Immortality!

Anping Mountain outside Anping County

Anping Temple on Anping Mountain

View of the backyard

By the pool.

A middle-aged man wearing a dark blue Taoist robe with a Tai Chi symbol on his back sat cross-legged on a futon, meditating with his eyes closed.

Instead of the usual five-center-of-heaven posture for meditation, his hands were placed at the dantian position in the gesture of embracing the primordial unity.

His palms held a gold ball, its surface polished like a mirror, with some white jade fragments inlaid in the openwork, and a rice-grain-sized natural pearl set in the clasp. The ball was engraved with dense talisman patterns.

A wisp of wisp of smoke drifted slowly from the hollowed-out part of the incense ball, but strangely it did not disperse. Instead, it entered the middle-aged Taoist's nostrils with his breath and then disappeared.

"Abbot, Master Zhang has arrived..."

A handsome young Taoist boy trotted over, bowed respectfully to the middle-aged Taoist, and spoke softly.

The middle-aged Taoist priest did not open his eyes or speak, but uttered a single "hmm" through his teeth. Then, he opened his mouth and exhaled a foul-smelling stench.

The young Taoist priest remained expressionless, having long been accustomed to holding his breath. It was the fish in the pond that suffered, as they rolled belly up and fainted.

Strangely enough, the middle-aged Taoist only exhaled one breath of foul air. When he exhaled again, the unpleasant smell disappeared, replaced by the scent of incense from the incense ball.

"Haha, congratulations Fellow Daoist Xu on making further progress in the True Scripture of Gathering Qi and Eliminating Turbidity. Given time, Fellow Daoist Xu will surely become the number one in Tianjin..."

A hearty laugh rang out as a square-faced man in a blue Taoist robe walked over; this man was Master Zhang.

Master Zhang glanced enviously at the futon under which the fellow Daoist Xu was sitting, a futon made of gold and silver thread sewn together with plain satin.

"Ha, the best in Tianjin?"

The middle-aged Taoist priest, also known as Master Xu, opened his eyes and smiled, though the smile was somewhat strange. He stood up and turned around without saying a word. The young Taoist disciple beside him quickly stepped forward and neatly straightened Master Xu's Taoist robe.

After the Taoist robe was straightened, Master Xu replaced the incense ball in his hand with a whisk with a handle made of some kind of ivory.

Master Xu flicked his whisk and walked towards the pavilion a few meters away, saying indifferently without turning his head, "What business do you have with me?"

"It's not just those people down there..."

Master Zhang smiled and followed, showing no annoyance at Fellow Daoist Xu's attitude. Instead, he smiled obsequiously and strode quickly into the pavilion, using his sleeve to wipe away non-existent dust from the chairs and table.

After Master Xu sat down and took a sip of the white jade cup filled with fine tea by the young Taoist, Master Zhang continued speaking.

"Old Mao died recently, leaving behind an apprentice. Those people under him are thinking of getting rid of Old Mao's apprentice so they can get more business. After all, even a small amount is still something..."

Seeing that Master Xu remained silent, Master Zhang paused for a moment before continuing, "But who knew those people would be so cruel, secretly harming Master Qin's eldest disciple who went to drive away Old Mao's disciple? That's why I came to tell you..."

"I heard that the old Taoist priest of Zuowang Temple is from Maoshan? Is that true or not?" Master Xu put down his cup and looked at Master Zhang, seemingly unrelated to the question.

Upon hearing this, Master Zhang shook his head and then nodded, saying, "This... I don't know. After all, his Zuowang Temple isn't among the seventy-two temples of Maoshan. However, Old Maoshan does indeed possess the Shangqing Great Cave True Scripture..."

"Shangqing..."

Master Xu muttered something to himself, then looked at Master Zhang and asked, "Does Master Qin know who killed his disciple?"

"He...knows, but he knows the rules!"

Master Zhang smiled and said, while Master Xu raised an eyebrow and said, "Oh, it's good that he knows the rules. Did that kid understand?"

"This... is most likely..."

Master Zhang gave a wry smile, while Master Xu pondered for a moment: "If Master Qin wins, then give him an explanation!"

"I understand, I understand, but... what if that kid wins..." Master Zhang nodded, then hesitated before speaking.

"Hmm? He's very talented?"

"Indeed, judging from his aura, he has already entered the Refining Essence into Qi realm. Keep in mind, he has only been a disciple for a little over a month..."

"That's certainly a promising talent. Hmm... if he wins, then we'll grant him a prosperous temple with abundant incense offerings and a constant stream of believers."

Master Xu said calmly. After he finished speaking, he looked at Master Zhang, who seemed to want to say something but hesitated, and his brows furrowed slightly.

"Another young man who doesn't know the rules?"

After saying that, he saw Master Zhang nod awkwardly, and a hint of displeasure flashed in his eyes as he said, "Then let him lose!"

"But what if he really is from Shangqing Maoshan..."

"Um?"

"I see……"

Master Zhang bowed his head and replied. Master Xu hummed in agreement and asked, "Can you resolve this? Let's not repeat last year's mistake!"

"Yes, yes, yes! The one who harmed Master Qin's disciple isn't just a Taoist, he's also a martial artist. With him around, that kid can't win..."

"A martial artist who cultivates both body and spirit?"

Xu Daoyou's eyes widened in surprise. Seeing Zhang Daoshi shake his head in disapproval, he immediately said with disdain, "Alright, I have other things to do!"

"Then I won't disturb Fellow Daoist Xu any longer!"

Master Zhang smiled and bowed. After the other party nodded slightly, he withdrew. Once he left the backyard and the inner courtyard and arrived at the bustling front yard, he paused for a moment with envy in his eyes.

Looking at the endless stream of worshippers before him, and then at the indistinct statues of immortals and gods in the main hall, obscured by the smoke of incense, Master Zhang couldn't help but sigh inwardly.

"Sigh, when will my Qingfeng Temple have such good incense offerings..." After saying that, he glanced at the setting sun and quickly left Anping Temple.

…………

As night approached,

The main hall of Zuowang Temple.

"Your Taoist temple is so... quiet!"

The speaker was none other than Qian Mu, a police officer who happened to be passing by. Zhao Zheng, who was sitting on a prayer mat reciting the Taishang Duren Sutra, opened his eyes, got up, and left the prayer mat.

"There was nothing I could do. My master died, and I was too young. They didn't believe me, so... gradually, no one came anymore!"

Actually, it's not that there's no one at all. There are still a few worshippers occasionally, and the Taoist temple does have a few loyal worshippers who come on time.

For example, auspicious days like the first and fifteenth of the lunar month!

"Too……"

Qian Mu nodded, thinking of the phrase "when people leave, tea grows cold." He watched as Zhao Zheng walked to the offering table, grabbed a handful of incense sticks, lit them, and stuffed them into the incense burner. His lips twitched twice.

"You...do you usually burn incense like this?"

He paused, then asked doubtfully, "Isn't it said that there are three spirits and four ghosts? The number of incense you're offering... isn't wrong?"

"Personal habit!"

"..."

Qian Mu paused for a moment, then Zhao Zheng, without turning his head, said, "Others offer three sticks of incense, I'll offer three hundred. I think the patriarch will definitely take a second look at me because of that!"

"Be careful, you might get a dirty look!"

"Even a rolled eye is still an eye!"

"..."

To be fair, it makes a lot of sense!

Qian Mu didn't want to continue the conversation. He turned his head to look at the sky outside the hall, which was gradually darkening, and then turned back to ask.

Have you ever thought about leaving Anping County?

Zhao Zheng didn't speak, but turned to look at Qian Mu with surprise. Qian Mu smiled and said, "Just a casual question..."

"Shall we eat?"

"Um?"

"I haven't eaten yet!"

"..."

After half an hour,

Qian Mu, who had freeloaded a meal, walked out of the Taoist temple before it got completely dark. However, he did not leave immediately. Instead, he stopped, turned around, and asked Zhao Zheng, who was standing in front of the statue of the Three Pure Ones in the main hall, again.

"Have you really never thought about leaving Anping County?"

"I told you, I promised my master I would protect the Zuowang Temple for him!" Zhao Zheng said without turning his head.

"Um."

Qian Mu nodded and disappeared into the alley without lingering. After Qian Mu left, the wide-open gate of the Taoist temple slowly closed, and Zhao Zheng picked up the holy cup from the offering table.