Chapter 11: A Big Deal

In the following days, Su Rou and I were very busy, traveling around Chengdu to sell the remaining goods in our hands. However, we didn’t expect that the goods continued to be as popular as the first day, selling exceptionally well.

The goods that Su Rou had originally expected to sell out in a week were sold out in five days, and the money earned was not only 5,000, but nearly 6,000.

Such a result made Su Rou very excited, and he wanted to repeat the same mistake again, but I stopped him. I said to Su Rou, “You only need to use this method once, and it’s for the sake of accumulating capital, which is beyond reproach. If you do it again, it’s too much.”

While happily counting the money, Su Rou gave himself a few painful slaps and said to me, “Sanwa, I was blinded by the lard and said nonsense. You know, I have never earned so much money since I was a child. Haha… Sanwa, you are really my lucky star.”

I didn’t bother to talk to Su Rou, but instead lay down on the bed. I realized that I was indeed numb to money, at least it didn’t excite me. What I cared about was something else, the matter of the swindler Taoist.

We have been wandering around at night these few days, but we haven’t met the so-called walking skeleton. This makes me feel uneasy. What if someone makes a fuss about this? What should I say and do? After all, I have no experience in cracking down on fakes, but it is also impossible for me to ignore it.

I told Su Rou about my unease, but he didn’t seem to care at all. He said, “Let’s talk about it when the time comes. You’re just doing your job. You can’t expect everyone in the world to believe you.”

Su Rou was right, but when I thought about those people ruining the reputation of Taoism, I really wished that everyone would believe in me.

Seeing that I was troubled, Su Rou said, “Just live your own life. Make more money, practice your Taoism, and you’ll be able to see Master Jiang in three years. Besides, when this is over, we should go to Guangzhou.”

After that, Su Rou turned off the lights and kept telling me to go to bed, and then he started snoring. As for me, I couldn’t sleep at all. I felt that this kind of life was not what I wanted.Taoist priest

Time flies. In the blink of an eye, two days have passed. In these two days, Su Rou and I have packed our luggage and are waiting for the fight to be over tonight, then we will buy train tickets to Guangzhou.

Su Rou had already found out where the funeral service would be held. At around 7 o’clock that night, Su Rou and I arrived at the place where the funeral service was to be held.

This place is a small factory building. In order to perform the ritual, many production equipment were placed aside, leaving a large open space in the middle, where many things had already been placed.

When I saw the scene, I was really amazed. In the open space, there was a ladder-like shelf with many statues of gods and immortals. The top ones were the three immortals of Taoism, the next ones were the Jade Emperor, and the rest were almost all Chinese gods and immortals.

I thought to myself, isn’t this just about exorcism? From the looks of it, you have to invite all the gods and Buddhas? Who can afford that? It’s already quite rare to be able to exorcise demons, but you have to invite all the gods and Buddhas? I guess people who don’t know what they’re looking at will be shocked by this. People who do know, like me, will think it’s nonsense.

Underneath the “magnificent” shelf, there was a long altar with offerings that were really something. Not to mention the fragrant candles and fruit and pastries, there were also whole chickens, ducks and pigs, all laid out in abundance.

I remember that my master was always very casual about making offerings, and a stack of steamed buns would do. My master once said, “Whether the gods and Buddhas come or not has nothing to do with the offerings. It only has to do with you, the person who makes the offerings! These gods and Buddhas are not hungry guys, and they have no limits when they see food. The amount of offerings does not represent whether the heart is sincere, and it is good as long as the respect is there.”

While I was thinking about the offerings, the man next to me, who was eating the crispy meat, asked someone, “Are the offerings really that good? Did the master pay for them himself? The master is really generous.”

“No, I heard that these offerings were paid for by the bosses. It’s good that the master came, and which kid would dare let someone else pay for the offerings?” This person was obviously infected by the solemn and magnificent momentum, and became a “fan” of the fake Taoist, defending him very much.

“What about the offerings after the ceremony?” Su Rou has always been a good boy who values “food.” I guess he was asking this question because he was sad that after the ceremony, the offerings would be thrown away.

This kid isn’t going to pick them up, is he? I glanced at Su Rou, who completely ignored me and just stared at the man, waiting for an answer.

The man said, “I’ve heard about this. After the offerings are made, the master takes them back to dispose of them personally. He said that it is an offering to the gods, and it is disrespectful to the gods for others to touch it. It has to be disposed of personally.”

I was really helpless when I heard this. This fake Taoist priest really knows how to bullshit! After the offerings are made, ordinary people can eat them without any problem. But when it comes to him, it becomes a matter of disrespect.

Before I could say anything, the crispy pork spoke up first. He whispered to me, “This Taoist priest is really a greedy bastard. He won’t even let go of these offerings. But it’s true, with so many offerings, they can be taken home and put in the refrigerator, and they can be eaten for a long time.”

I jokingly said, “Even a mosquito’s leg is still meat.”

Then I continued to look around. In front of the long altar was the altar of the “master.” Gee, what a gorgeous altar! The yellow brocade was of the finest quality, and the paper people and paper horses were arranged in a beautiful and colorful manner. I guess he had all the paper people and paper horses needed to open the altar.

There were so many things on the altar that I couldn’t see clearly what they were, and I didn’t bother to look. At least I didn’t feel any magical fluctuations. You have to know that real Taoist priests have a certain sense of the magical instruments, even if they don’t have a strong spiritual sense. That’s because they have a natural sense of contact after long-term contact.

Around the altar, there were also many mats and small tables, but what were they for? Were they for a class?

I was curious, so I asked the person next to me, “Who are these cushions for? Are there many masters?”

“Don’t you know? The master has many disciples. Every time he opens the altar, he needs these disciples to protect the law, because the master has many enemies who have killed demons and exorcised demons over the years. He is afraid that when he is doing his best to open the altar, his enemies will take advantage of the situation.” The person next to me explained to me.

This explanation stunned me. In modern terms, it was like I was shocked and couldn’t stop thinking about it. I couldn’t help but say, “This master is really high-profile.”

The person next to me was not convinced and said, “The master is very low-key. You know that the Public Security Bureau does not tolerate these folk masters. He is not doing it for everyone, he doesn’t want to open the altar at all.”

“Is the master so selfless? But why do I find that I want to invite him, but I don’t have enough money?” I deliberately said something, to be honest, I really couldn’t watch it anymore. My master’s ancestor would take money if he wanted it, and if he didn’t want it, he wouldn’t take it. He never advertised himself as a moral model.

As for my master, he has no concept of money at all, and he acts purely according to his heart.

Such a crooked master has become a compassionate person. I really want to hear how that person will answer.

When he heard me say that, he let out a helpless sigh and said, “I heard that the master doesn’t want to charge money, but so many of his disciples rely on him, and he gets very weak after each performance, so he needs to replenish his body. It’s necessary to pay! And the master never says the price, it’s the victims themselves who pay.”

I snorted in my heart, didn’t say anything else, and had to admit that these fake Taoist priests were even more popular than the real ones. No wonder my master always said that liars were often the ones who could best grasp the weaknesses of people’s hearts.

At this point, it was already 7:50, and the master had not shown up. Instead, a dozen people suddenly appeared. As soon as they entered, they ran behind the shelves. When they came out, they had all become Taoist priests in robes.

People were exclaiming, “The master’s apprentice is here! The master’s apprentice looks very capable.”

I looked at them and indeed, compared to me, they looked more like Taoist priests. They were unperturbed by praise or criticism, and they looked compassionate. They walked with a dignified air, and when they sat down, they didn’t forget to perform a Taoist ritual, shouting to the people, “Boundless Supreme Being.”

In contrast, I looked like a rascal.

But when I looked at the group of disciples, I clearly saw an acquaintance.