The young Taoist priest gave me an embarrassed smile when I said that.
"Alright, alright!"
With that, I gestured for Chu Yue to wait for me and then took the young Taoist priest to a nearby building.
As soon as we entered, I smiled and asked,
"Fellow Daoist, what should I call you?"
The young Taoist priest chuckled awkwardly at my question,
"Ah! Long Hua, Long Hua!"
"Fellow Daoist Long, you said you are a disciple of the Qingcheng Sect? I have some acquaintance with Xia Qiuxi and Wu Kehang."
I continued to inquire, mainly to understand his background.
The young Taoist priest didn't answer immediately, instead stammering a bit,
"Well, well, well, that, that counts, I suppose..."
"You suppose?"
"In that case, you can only be considered an outer disciple?"
I pressed on.
Long Hua shook his head again,
"Actually, I'm not even an outer disciple. I, I'm actually the cook at the Qingcheng Temple. I worked under my master in the temple for three years, secretly learning his skills. Eventually, I was discovered and kicked down the mountain. Then, then I relied on this bit of skill to subdue demons and eliminate monsters. But I promise, I've never harmed anyone. Although I charge a bit more, I'm risking my life when I fight those foul creatures..."
Long Hua was about to explain further, but I stopped him.
He was right; everyone has different values. I killed ghosts to cultivate, all for survival. Long Hua killed ghosts purely to earn money. While he might be a bit of a charlatan and his cultivation wasn't high, he was certainly not an evil or bad person.
"It's nothing, I was just asking. If you truly wish to pursue the Dao, I'll ask around later to see if I can help you genuinely join the Qingcheng Mountain sect."
I said calmly.
Long Hua's face lit up with joy upon hearing this,
"Ah! That, that would be wonderful. I've dreamed of becoming a disciple of the Qingcheng Sect. But the Qingcheng Sect only accepts disciples around ten years old, and I'm past that age. If it really works out, I'll be eternally grateful..."
He then clasped his hands in front of me. I quickly stopped him,
"I can't make any promises, I'll just inquire. If it doesn't work out, then it doesn't work out."
After that, I chatted with Long Hua for a while longer. After all, we were both in the same line of work. Long Hua also told me about his experiences. After being kicked out of Qingcheng Mountain for secretly learning skills, he stopped working as a cook. He found a place and opened a shop. With the few genuine skills he had learned, dealing with minor wandering spirits and ghosts was more than enough. Later, his reputation grew. He came here this time after being introduced by someone, Mr. Niu, who found him. He said he never expected a red-clothed ghost to appear. If that red-clothed ghost hadn't been somewhat lucid and rational at the time, he might have been a goner. He also mentioned that he didn't expect to meet me. At first, he looked down on me and said some polite words, asking me not to take them to heart. I shook my head; they were just a few words, and I didn't care. After understanding Long Hua's background, we both turned and left. We returned to our previous spot, where the surrounding workers had been dismissed and were now working. I looked at Chu Yue and called out,
"Chu Yue, we can leave now!"
Chu Yue grunted, gave a few instructions to her subordinates, and then left with me. As we walked out of the construction site, Chu Yue spoke to me,
"Thank you again for this. Tell me, what do you want to eat tonight? My treat."
But I refused, telling Chu Yue,
"No, this female ghost needs to be dealt with. Next time!"
With that, I picked up the bottle that resembled an ice pop. Even with the talismans stuck on it, Chu Yue could feel its chill. Seeing this, Chu Yue could only regretfully say,
"Alright! Then I'll give you a ride back."
After saying that, Chu Yue drove me back to my shop. After I got out of the car, Chu Yue suddenly said goodbye to me and then drove away. I didn't go back to No. 81; instead, I went directly to find my martial uncle. I felt that the small wooden plaque was quite unusual and needed my martial uncle's appraisal. Upon arriving at the entrance, I found my martial uncle tasting wine. There were over a dozen small wine cups in front of him. He took a sip and commented,
"Hiss, the angelica taste is too strong, not good!"
"Hiss, the deer antler taste is too strong, not good!"
"Hiss, this one tastes good, add two more catties of aphrodisiac herb!"
"..."
My martial uncle's drinking had reached a certain level; he was joyous with any wine. I walked in and called out,
"Martial Uncle, tasting wine?"
"Heh heh heh, little Qin, you're here. Come and try my new medicinal wine, the Great Tonic Aphrodisiac Wine. I plan to open a wine brewing workshop next door in the future. I'll let little Mo handle the funeral business. I'll just sell wine every day. Come, try my new wine..."
My martial uncle was very excited and picked up a wine bottle to offer me. Although I couldn't quite handle my martial uncle's "potent" brew, as I felt hot all day after drinking it and still didn't have a girlfriend, since my martial uncle had gone this far, I had to pick it up and drink a cup. Although it was potent, the reaction after drinking it was indeed intense.
"Martial Uncle, this wine is strong, it's good..."
"Hahaha, good, right! That's what it should be. Huh! What are you holding in your hand? Why is the yin energy so strong?"
My martial uncle finally noticed what I was holding and asked. Getting down to business, I became serious,
"Oh, I just caught a red-clothed ghost outside and brought it back for you to take a look at..."
"What? You went out and caught a red-clothed ghost?"
My martial uncle looked at me with shock and disbelief.