Chapter 99

Chapter 99

There are many branches and sects within the Daoist tradition, but if one traces their origins, most can be closely linked to ancient shamanism. It's like if Emperor Yan and Emperor Huangdi suddenly appeared in contemporary society—who would dare say they are not our ancestors? Who would want to give up being descendants of Yan and Huang?

If you go back far enough, everyone can be considered family.

Led by the sect leader, the entire Xuanmen sect knelt on the ground, with scattered ritual instruments everywhere.

The sect leader seemed dazed, feeling like he was in a dream. He couldn't fathom how Wu Heng, the shaman, had traveled from ancient times to the present. But he knew for certain that in terms of seniority, Wu Heng was several times higher than their own founder.

They had run into a real tough nut to crack.

Previously, they had watched short dramas about the return of the Crooked-Mouth Dragon King, but the Dragon King they had imagined wasn't the kind to kneel and get humiliated.

Among the Xuanmen members, Chen Zhao was pulled down to kneel by his master, his face flushed with excitement.

What kind of luck did he have? He had actually latched onto such a powerful figure!

He recalled how he had advised Wu Heng to get the Daoist Physician certification at Xuanmen. Why hadn't Wu Heng gone? External qualifications were a big deal. Even Xuanmen and the entire metaphysical community had to address Wu Heng as "Ancestral Master." Who would care about a worthless certificate issued by Xuanmen?

If there was any discrimination, it would be Wu Heng discriminating against other Masters!

Chen Zhao counted the generations on his fingers, lost in thought.

Although he hadn't formally become a disciple, he had boldly called Wu Heng "Master." If they were to calculate seniority, even their founder would have to kneel and kowtow to him!

Chen Zhao didn't have the guts for that yet, so he turned to bully his master instead, whispering expectantly, "Old man, call me 'Master' first, let me hear it."

He wanted to get a taste of the exhilarating feeling of being elevated in seniority.

Ha! The old man never saw this coming, did he?

The old man knelt on the ground, stroking his beard thoughtfully, and sneered, "You little upstart, go ask who was the first to suggest switching masters to Dr. Wu?"

The old man smirked smugly.

The foolish boy had only mentioned wanting to switch masters over the phone. Little did he know that the next day, when the old man went to administer vaccines to students at Jiaming High School, he had already proposed the idea of switching masters to Wu Heng.

In terms of sequence, the foolish boy would have to wait in line.

Gotcha!

Chen Zhao: "..."

Damn, the old man still has the upper hand. He knew the old man wanted to run even more than he did, always putting on airs of dignity and wisdom.

Wu Heng glanced at the crowd and said, "Rise."

The stunned Masters got up from the ground, and the sect leader immediately changed his tone, telling someone to fetch a few chairs.

After Wu Heng sat down, Chen Zhao quickly took a seat beside him, leaving the sect leader in shock.

Only then did the sect leader remember that Wu Heng had come to Xuanmen for Chen Zhao.

In principle, someone as junior as Chen Zhao shouldn't be sitting in such a setting, but the principle was on Chen Zhao's side.

Well... let him sit then.

The sect leader's mind was racing, and after a moment of thought, he guessed that Wu Heng's earlier statement about kicking their founder out of the sect was to take Chen Zhao away. He took the initiative and said, "Since Ancestral Master holds Chen Zhao in such high regard, feel free to take him with you. After all, he is from our Xuanmen, and we're lucky to have your approval."

"And my master," Chen Zhao was overjoyed. Now even the Patriarch would have to let them go. He recalled something and added, "Sect Master, you must settle the salaries you've owed us for years before we leave."

"Here's how we'll calculate it. We'll base it on the local state-owned enterprise's monthly salary of 10,000 yuan after tax, which amounts to 120,000 yuan a year. I joined the sect three months ago and officially started working for the sect at the age of twelve, so the sect has owed me 1.56 million yuan for these thirteen years. I'll forgo any sect benefits, just transfer this amount to me."

"By the way, my master's salary should also be calculated properly. He has been in the sect for sixty years, but I heard that the salary deductions only started in the last decade or so. Let's give him the same rate as mine."

The Celestial Masters present widened their eyes and couldn't help but calculate their own salaries, eyeing Chen Zhao enviously.

At that moment, the phrase "choice is greater than effort" was fully embodied.

When the Sect Master heard Chen Zhao asking for a million, he felt his vision darken and anxiously shouted, "Chen Zhao, what are you talking about? It sounds like I withheld your salaries. And what about inflation?"

Chen Zhao felt he wasn't wrong: "A decade ago, ordinary people could earn 3,000 yuan a month, and now there are still plenty of workers earning 3,000 yuan a month. Everything's gone up in price over the years, except our pay."

"I'm only asking for two 1.56 million yuan, not taking advantage of you."

Chen Zhao raised his chin: "Also, Sect Master, pay attention to your tone and attitude. You're now speaking to the disciple of Master Wu Heng, your sect elder, which is me."

Sect Master: "..."

Damn this brat!

The Sect Master was genuinely panicked. Chen Zhao was asking for over three million yuan in one go, and even if he dismantled the sect, he couldn't come up with that much money.

And the other equally poor sect brothers and sisters, who were struggling to make ends meet, were also wildly tempted.

"Master, Patriarch, would you like to consider me? One disciple or two, what's the difference? Taking a whole group would be good for your retirement."

One Celestial Master couldn't control himself and rushed out, kneeling straight in front of Wu Heng, starting a direct pitch: "Junior XXX, twenty-five years old, originally from the sect's talisman department, extremely skilled in writing protective talismans, thunder talismans, and peach blossom talismans. I have descended the mountain to break evil formations and have cooperated with the police multiple times in solving cases where dreams led to the discovery of bodies."

The Celestial Master turned his head and smiled shyly at the black-faced Sect Master: "Sect Master, if I can get an offer, you only need to compensate me one million."

Sect Master: "...Just take a knife and kill me."

Once someone started, others followed. They sat in the courtyard outside the main hall, facing the Patriarch's golden statue, boldly pitching themselves in front of Wu Heng.

Wu Heng tilted his head and looked at the majestic and mysterious Patriarch statue, shaking his head slightly, seeing the outcome.

Expecting the horse to run without feeding it. Taoists aren't exactly in it for the money, but they can't live on just high-minded principles either.

Such a large sect, with most people wanting to leave, the sect is really going downhill.

The scene was noisy, like workers demanding back pay before the New Year.

Because there were too many people calling out, the Sect Master, overwhelmed by debt, stopped worrying, and his anxious heart calmed down.

His response was simple: "No money."

He really had no money, he was poor, just like everyone else.

The Sect Master looked at the other disciples who were joining in the commotion and said coldly, "Chen Zhao and his master are being personally taken by Master Wu Heng, so I can override the sect's regulations and let them leave. As for you, you can also ask the Patriarch if he agrees. If he agrees, I will immediately affix the official seal on the 'transfer' approval form."

With these words, the other Taoist Masters calmed down.

Chen Zhao was secretly thrilled!

Yes, this is the taste of the overbearing shaman's coercive affection!

Chen Zhao tugged at the old man's sleeve, "Master, let's hurry and grab our luggage, pack up and return to Nan Nuo Village to get ready for the New Year banquet."

Chen Zhao is back, but he hasn’t even opened his suitcase, and now he’s ready to leave on his own.

The old man stayed quiet, just staring at Wu Heng, who then said to the sect leader, "I wasn’t joking with you earlier."

"What do you mean, not a joke?" The sect leader was stunned and carefully recalled, then exclaimed in shock, "What’s the Ancestor Master saying? That he wants to kick our Xuanmen Patriarch out of the sect?"

Wu Heng sipped the hot tea a disciple handed him, pondering which of the snacks on the table would taste better, and said lightly, "Exactly."

Even though the sect leader knew Wu Heng was a shaman from ancient times, he couldn’t help but defend his own Patriarch, "This can’t be done. Our Patriarch, in his time, single-handedly turned Xuanmen from a small sect into a major one. Even now, the government has made Xuanmen the official face of metaphysics, all thanks to the Patriarch’s legacy."

"Our Patriarch hasn’t done anything wrong—why should he be kicked out of the sect?"

The sect leader looked around at everyone and declared loudly, "I know everyone’s unhappy about the pay cuts, but we’re in this line of work, so we have to deal with the five misfortunes and three lacks. Now, with evil spirits everywhere, it’s the Patriarch who’s watching over us from the other side."

The sect leader was quite anxious inside. He and the elders all had dreams from the Patriarch, which is why they decided to halve, halve again, and halve once more the salaries of their disciples, using all the money to buy offerings to burn for the Patriarch’s sake.

Lately, things have gotten worse, and the government’s been leaning on Xuanmen more and more. Isn’t this the result of the Patriarch’s protection?

Though later, the government started favoring folk Master Liu and Daoist Physicians more, that’s just because they didn’t step up.

Wu Heng asked one question, "When the Patriarch showed up in your dreams, what job did he promise you after you die?"

The sect leader blushed a little and awkwardly said, "Judge."

The sect leader didn’t see any problem with this. He’d done a good job serving the country and the people in this life, so why shouldn’t he compete for the position of Judge based on his merits after death? Everyone’s got to have dreams, right?

The elders were stunned, "Judge? Didn’t the Patriarch say he would make me a Judge?"

"You too? But the Patriarch said he would make me a Judge, or did I dream wrong?"

Wu Heng: "..."

Wu Heng was amazed—a rock-solid Patriarch, but Judges coming and going like a revolving door.

Are they churning out Judges? Even the promises are carbon copies.

Wu Heng smiled and asked, "Who do you think can appoint new Judges?"

The scene immediately fell silent. Everyone in this line of work was sharp, and upon connecting Wu Heng’s insistence on expelling the Patriarch from the sect, they began to feel uneasy inside.

"No way, right?"

Wu Heng’s voice turned cold, "Go check the well you drink from—it’s full of yin energy!"

Xuanmen is the biggest metaphysical sect in the country, controlling the Master Liu within the sect, even using master-disciple bonds to control their enemies among regular folks, easily causing chaos.

After all, who’d have thought the government’s own Master Liu would turn on the people?

Wu Heng speculated that the authorities must have initially trusted Xuanmen greatly, hence pouring vast funds into Xuanmen for the development of Yang-enhancing vaccines. Later, they probably gradually noticed something was amiss but couldn’t find concrete evidence, so they sought out other Master Liu sects and folk Daoist Physicians.

And he, Wu Heng, was able to diagnose evil diseases live on the Shark Video Platform, likely because the authorities began to value the folk Daoist Physicians.

Wu Heng stared at the golden statue sitting grandly in the main hall, like it was looking down on everyone, and said, "Bring me the sect’s genealogy."

Given Wu Heng’s seniority, the elders, their hearts filled with turmoil, had no choice but to fetch the sect’s genealogy, easily obtaining the first volume.

When presenting it to Wu Heng, they hesitated. Although they had always harbored doubts, they felt how could the Patriarch destroy his own legacy after death?

The sect leader had also anxiously asked in his dreams, and the Patriarch, maintaining his mysterious demeanor, reassured him to carry on with his duties. After all, it was the sect’s Patriarch, how could he harm his own disciples?

Wu Heng opened the first page and saw the name at the top line.

This was the exclusive lineage record of the sect, always honored with the highest offerings of incense.

Some folks, even in death, are never content.

Wu Heng grabbed the brush soaked in black ink from Chen Zhao and decisively crossed out the top name!

Totally erased!

The entire Mystic Sect gasped in unison, shocked. The sect leader even empathized with the King of Hell from *Journey to the West*, imagining Sun Wukong's rampage through the Underworld, erasing names from the Book of Life and Death. He felt as if he might have a stroke on the spot.

Dread filled everyone, especially the sect leader and elders, who feared the founding ancestor would haunt their dreams to scold them.

But what if Wu Heng, the founding master, had made a mistake?

Wu Heng glanced up at the golden statue in the grand hall and coolly ordered, "Smash it."

He must have taken a page from the headless ghost's book—provocation was oddly satisfying.

At Wu Heng's command to destroy the ancestor's golden statue, the entire Mystic Sect dropped to their knees once more.

The sect leader cried out in desperation, "Founding Master, you can't!"

Since the founding ancestor's ascension, each capable sect leader had the golden statue rebuilt. It stood as a symbol of the Mystic Sect, embodying its very essence and spirit.

To the disciples, destroying the ancestor's golden statue was akin to patricide. How could they face the underworld after death?

Deep down, they still saw the grand hall figure as the righteous ancestor from sect lore, who sacrificed himself to defeat evil, amassing great merit.

To deny the founding ancestor was to deny their very identity.

Wu Heng's gaze fell on Chen Zhao and his petrified disciple, and he commanded, "Smash it."

After a brief pause, Chen Zhao grabbed a stone from the flower bed, charged into the grand hall, and, eyes shut, hurled it at the golden statue.

Eyes closed, he heard a dull thud, his hands shaking uncontrollably.

He had truly made his stand, being the first to destroy the ancestor's golden statue. Just half a day ago, even thinking about such an act would have gotten him beaten by the whole sect.

Chen Zhao peeked with one eye and saw the statue's belly dented slightly by the large stone he'd thrown.

"Wait—" Chen Zhao squinted, uncertain, as a faint black mist oozed from the crack in the statue's belly.

Chen Zhao exclaimed in shock, "Yin energy? Is that yin energy inside the ancestor's golden statue?"

All eyes were fixed on the faint wisp of evil energy, barely noticeable without close inspection. How could this be?

The sect leader shook his head in disbelief, his worldview utterly shattered today.

Evil energy?

How could there be evil energy in a place like the Mystic Sect?

"Smash it open. If I'm mistaken, I'll personally beg the ancestor's forgiveness and take out a million-dollar loan to rebuild the statue," the sect leader cried, tears welling up.

Wu Heng remained seated, watching as the members of the Mystic Sect, armed with stones, axes, and even talismans and magical tools, surged toward the massive statue.

The hall echoed with the sounds of hammering against the statue.

Chen Zhao's eyes gleamed as he stared at the statue, his fingers picking at its golden surface.

Although the inside of the statue was made of mud, the exterior was pure gold. The ancestor had converted his salary into underworld currency and offerings, so it wasn't too much for Chen Zhao to peel off some gold and melt it into ingots, right?

Chen Zhao became increasingly obsessed with picking at the statue until his fingers broke through the thigh of the statue, and a surge of sinister yin energy instantly burst forth, lunging towards Chen Zhao's face.

"Xiao Zhao!" the old man shouted, immediately rushing to save his disciple.

The yin energy struck the old man, and his face instantly turned pale.

At this moment, the members of the Xuanmen watched as the golden statue of their ancestor, now riddled with holes, released thick yin energy that clashed with the faint righteous energy around it before being instantly suppressed.

"How could this be? How could our ancestor be like this?" a white-haired elder looked on in despair, his Daoist heart shattered.

They had grown up hearing stories of their ancestor, a revered figure who had received their daily incense offerings. How could this ancestor of the Xuanmen, who they had worshipped, be in league with evil spirits?

As the official Xuanxue institution of Huaxia, their ancestor's golden statue, which they had devoutly worshipped day after day, was filled with yin energy! How absurd!

What did that make them? Accomplices to evil?

The older Masters Liu at the scene collectively had their minds shattered, with some even collapsing on the spot in anger and fainting. Fortunately, there were many Daoist Physicians present.

The sect leader's face was streaked with tears. He had once believed that the ancestor collected those funds to protect them, for the sake of the entire Xuanmen. He had also thought that he was the ancestor's most beloved disciple in this era, which was why he was the only one entrusted with tasks in dreams. He had believed he was the most special and favored.

But now...

"Ahhhhh!!"

The sect leader howled madly, his eyes bloodshot with rage. He roared as he charged towards the golden statue, pulling out a Five Thunder Talisman from his sleeve and waving it in the air, immediately summoning thunder to strike the yin energy.

Wu Heng couldn't help but think of what netizens often said: is this what it looks like when a die-hard fan turns against their idol? It was indeed brutal.

The statue that sat high in the hall was smashed and toppled by the members of the Xuanmen, by his own disciples!

An extremely thick yin energy emerged from the statue's majestic eyes, rushing straight towards Wu Heng at high speed.

Chen Zhao, supporting his master, anxiously looked in Wu Heng's direction and shouted, "Ancestor, be careful!"

Wu Heng remained seated in the chair in the small courtyard outside the hall, watching the yin energy rush towards him without moving a muscle.

The cold, lifeless black mist rushed to Wu Heng's face, stopping just a few centimeters from his eyes.

Wu Heng didn't even blink, as if engaged in a silent standoff.

The yin energy suddenly retreated from Wu Heng's face, seeing the young man calmly eating snacks, and then gathered and surged towards the foot of the Xuanmen mountain.

Wu Heng looked at the wailing members of the Xuanmen and said, "The judge may not be able to do his job, but someone can still sit in the position in the hall."

The temptation of the first incense offering is appropriate anywhere.

Turning from darkness to light, they are still the Xuanmen Taoist priests who stand for the people!

Wu Heng looked at the continuous mountains and said, "Now is the time when you are needed."

-

This year, Nan Nuo Village was exceptionally lively. Villagers who had been working outside had returned, and tourists celebrating the New Year were everywhere in the village. All the hotels and homestays were fully booked, with tourists even directly contacting villagers, hoping to pay to stay in their homes and celebrate the New Year together.

This Spring Festival, Nan Nuo Village, even the entire Nuo River eighteen villages and the whole town, were filled with tourists from all over.

He Yunxiao and Li Hao, along with their families, got off the high-speed train and easily reached Chengde Medical Hall by car.

Wu Su had asked an old man in the village, known for his calligraphy skills, to write Spring Festival couplets—traditional Chinese New Year decorations—for his family. In the past, it was always his own father who wrote them, but now he had to ask for help.

Once inside, the families greeted Wu Su and presented him with New Year gifts.

He Yunxiao, holding Xi Xi, glanced around, "Why don’t I see Shi Xuan and Dr. Wu? Are they out on a date?"

Even the little white snake was nowhere to be seen. Surely they wouldn’t bring a snake as an unwanted companion on a date, right?

You Jin just said they had stepped out.

Luckily, Chengde Medical Hall had plenty of guest rooms, so everyone could squeeze in and stay.

The festive New Year spirit was growing stronger, with firecrackers popping everywhere and villagers seen buying New Year goods on the road.

Zhou Dagui and the village officials rode on a motorized tricycle, stopping at each house to hand out a medicine package from the back.

"This is a care package the higher-ups arranged for everyone in an emergency. Boil it into medicine water and sprinkle it around the house morning and evening."

"During the New Year, our village will arrange for special personnel to spray the medicine water to ward off evil spirits. Wishing everyone a Happy New Year."

He Yunxiao held Xi Xi, feeling uneasy as Wu Heng and Shi Xuan had not yet returned. He couldn’t sleep well all night.

So on the morning of New Year’s Eve, he got up very early. While getting dressed, He Yunxiao saw Xi Xi lying by the window looking out and laughed, "What are you looking at? Did you get up too early and haven’t heard the rooster crow yet?"

It seemed no one had slept well, and everyone got up early.

Today was New Year’s Eve, and Chengde Medical Hall was not open for business, only the door was opened.

As soon as the door opened, outside was a thick fog, pitch black as if it were still night, with a cold and gloomy temperature. The road was teeming with malevolent spirits.

They walked barefoot on the road, sometimes floating, occasionally letting out eerie laughter, singing: "New Year’s Eve, New Year’s Eve, life returns to the west; New Year’s red envelope, must be a spiritual treasure."