Chapter 12: A Daoist with a Daoist appearance?

I have had an amazing memory since I was a child. I often have to wait a long time before I can remember people I have only met once. So, one of the disciples was quickly recognized.

Who was he? He was the one who bumped into Su Rou and gave him a fierce glare that night when I went to the factory with him to investigate.

This person is the master’s apprentice? I frowned and thought carefully, and everything connected. No wonder after I met him, Su Rou and I heard the so-called “ghost cries.”

I whispered my discovery to Su Rou, who just shook his head. He said that this discovery was useless, and that no one would believe it just because we said so.

Su Rou’s words made sense, but I thought as long as there were two security guards as witnesses, everything would be fine.

So I angrily watched the group of apprentices sit down and then waited patiently.

After a short while, I heard the crowd start to talk. Seven or eight bosses who had been sitting there also came out with excited expressions. Then, I soon saw these bosses escorting a man in a Taoist robe, who looked very pious, into the restaurant.

I looked up and down at the man, who was about forty years old. He really had a good appearance, with well-proportioned facial features and a compassionate expression. He was holding a whisk and the Taoist robe really set off his dignified appearance.

After entering, this person also performed a Taoist ritual and said to the people, “Boundless Supreme Being.”

During the conversation, he smiled politely, his voice steady and full of magnetism, giving people the impression that this is the style of a high-level person.

Su Rou saw this person and couldn’t help but say to me, “Sanwa, if I hadn’t grown up with you since childhood, I would definitely think that this person is a high-level person. As for you and Master Jiang, one is an old scoundrel and the other is a good-for-nothing who lives off of others.

I was so angry that I couldn’t help but say to Su Rou, “You mother!”

Su Rou said innocently, “What’s wrong with my mother? Isn’t my mother your aunt?”

I was too lazy to argue with Su Rou and continued to watch this man’s performance.

Sure enough, this person looked calm and said to the crowd, “I am always merciful in Taoism. Under normal circumstances, I would not attack the poor lonely ghosts. However, as you said, this ghost has already affected the lives of several people, and next, it may have to hurt people. In desperation, I had no choice but to act. In addition, the incense money given by the bosses is generous. If there is any left over, I will definitely donate it to the Taoist temple or to those in need, and accumulate more merit for you.”

What a compassionate look! I suddenly felt ashamed. Why don’t my master and I have such a high-minded image? When we walk on the street, people think we are just a couple of old and young rascals.

Faced with the master’s words, the bosses were obviously moved. Among them, there was also the boss who helped me and the boss who made fake meat. This miser was also moved and said in his Cantonese-accented Mandarin, “Master Xixi, I don’t care, but I’m worried about the geese. That ghost, it makes people cry at night and the guards can’t sleep well. I’m afraid it will come to my house and affect my geese.”

“Yes, it’s even worse these days, crying every night.”

“Yes, I’m afraid that, as the master said, the next step will be to hurt someone.”

Several bosses complained to the master, who listened patiently with a compassionate smile and nodded humbly. After the bosses had finished, he said with a solemn expression, “Under the bright blue sky, how can I allow ghosts to cause trouble in the world? Don’t worry, I will definitely capture the ghost and restore peace to the world. After today’s exorcism, I will ensure that you are safe. The most important thing is that ghosts cannot wreak havoc in my world.

I thought to myself, “What a hypocritical priest!” But have any real priests ever stood in front of people like this? Those who died in obscurity in the wild villages were the real priests who dedicated themselves to people, right? Have they ever spoken out? Have they ever received a penny from the people?

The master naturally did not know that there were two troublemakers in the crowd today. After he had made his righteous declaration, one of his disciples immediately brought him a basin of water to wash his hands, and then another disciple held a copper basin and sprinkled him with water from the basin with a willow branch.

Not understanding this series of actions, Su Rou couldn’t help but ask me, “Sanwa, what does this mean? Washing your hands in a golden basin?”

I didn’t understand either, so I didn’t answer. Someone else did, however: “If you two don’t understand, don’t say anything. Before casting a spell, you need to purify your body and hands.”

Okay, I’ll put up with it! If you need to purify yourself, shouldn’t you have done it already? Why are you pretending to be a master here? Why don’t you boil a bucket of fragrant water, take off your clothes in public, and jump in?

I was too lazy to say anything, but I saw that the master had already walked solemnly to the altar, picked up a three-pronged bell, and started chanting.

At the same time, the master’s disciples also began to chant. What was this chanting? I listened carefully and almost fainted. Damn, they really worked hard. Everyone was chanting the “Tao Te Ching”!

To be honest, it really has a lot of momentum. When it is read out in the special tone of the scriptures, people don’t have to listen carefully to understand it. Even if they do understand it, many people don’t know the specific content of the “Tao Te Ching,” except for a few familiar phrases.

As for what the master was saying, I don’t know. I only know that the master was in front of the stage, looking very painful, laborious, and constipated, trying hard to show off.

At this time, it is impossible for the crowd to be quiet. Such a fresh scene naturally makes people want to talk about it. It was at this moment that one of the master’s disciples stood up and said to everyone with great emotion: “Master is stepping on the gong, ringing the bell, communicating with ghosts, and using compassionate methods to persuade. It is very harmful to the body. Please don’t talk about it, so as not to distract the master’s mind and cause damage. Thank you all. Infinite Buddha.”

After hearing this, people naturally couldn’t discuss it. This scene made me speechless. What is the point of not discussing it? If his apprentice didn’t say it, I really wouldn’t have known that the master was practicing the “Treading the Dao” technique. When did the “Treading the Dao” technique have this function and communicate with ghosts?

As for the ringing of the bell, they were just demonstrating their expertise, but now they’ve revealed their true colors. Besides, although there are many different methods of the Three-Purity Bell, they all have to do with driving away ghosts and calming the mind. When did they become able to communicate with haunted houses?

Faced with this performance, I was too exhausted to complain!

Instead, the crispy meat said in a very low voice, “Son of a bitch, it’s a lie to make people quiet. It’s true that he deliberately said some professional terms to gain people’s trust, right?”

At this moment, the annoying sound of the bell stopped. The master looked regretful and said to the crowd, “After I tried to persuade him, the ghost refused to leave, saying that he had unresolved grievances and must stay here. Bosses, you have to be merciful when doing business.”

As soon as the words fell, the bosses were scared out of their wits. It wasn’t that they weren’t merciful in their business dealings, but there was a story about a boss who had something to do with a female employee, and then the female employee hanged herself.

Such things can be found out by asking around, but people’s ability to associate is always excellent, and they must have thought of something.

For a while, everyone thought the master was a god.

Sure enough, the psychological game was played well.

At the same time, this also caused the bosses to panic, asking, “Master, what should we do?”

“Master, this has nothing to do with us…”

The master looked compassionate, gestured for everyone to calm down, and then said, “Since I have taken on this matter, I will see it through. Now that it has come to this, I cannot bear to see anyone else be harmed by the ghost under the bright sun. So, I will risk my own life and capture the ghost.” At this point, the master paused, sighed with regret, and said, “I thought I could convince it, but I didn’t expect to have to use all my power and risk my own life to destroy it. This is too cruel…”

The master is merciful, but his disciple is quitting. A disciple who was reciting the Tao Te Ching suddenly stood up and said to the master with great emotion, “Master, this is not right. This kind of damage cannot be made up for by ordinary medicine. The ginseng and yellow essence are hard to find and hard to buy. You have made many enemies over the years, and I don’t know how many things will cause trouble for you. If you do this, what will happen to us disciples?”

“Damn it!” Su Rou finally couldn’t help but curse. This group of people are too damn good at acting.

As for me, I calmed down and decided to expose the scam. In fact, I just made a discovery that I really didn’t want to tell you. Although I haven’t practiced the Buddhist ability to hear the sound of the universe, with the help of my spiritual awareness, I can still hear a lot of things if I concentrate on listening.

I listened carefully and, matching the master’s mouth movements, I was sure that the master’s so-called chanting was saying one thing: “Eat grapes without spitting out the grape skins, and eat potatoes without spitting out the potato skins.”

If I were to tell this discovery, I would not be able to bear it. Is this not a living proof that the people here are all pigs?