amaotonovel Chapter 26 Witnessing the Truth
Chapter 26 Witnessing the Truth
After retrieving his belongings from Lao Xiao's warehouse, Ouyang drove his van to Lao Xiao's villa area, unloaded his portion, and then drove to the foot of the mountain. He called the old Taoist priest and his master, who quickly rushed down from the mountaintop, fearing that someone else would get there first.
The old Taoist priest, along with his three grand-disciples, came down to carry the things back up, especially the eggs. Whether chicken or duck eggs, the old priest treasured them dearly. You're probably wondering why he treasured them so much. Actually, he wanted to hatch them and see if they were any different from ordinary chicken eggs.
This time, the old Taoist's master again summoned the old Taoist Xuanyuan, and again gave him five eggs (both chicken and duck eggs) and two rabbits. The old Taoist Xuanyuan took one male and one female back to his Taoist temple to raise them carefully, to see if the offspring would be any different. He had eaten a delicious braised rabbit at his master's place, which was incredibly flavorful and full of spiritual energy. While not quite as good as grains, it was still quite good. He wanted the rabbits to have a few more litters to see if there were any differences. After a month, the female rabbit finally became pregnant. Another month passed, and she finally had eight baby rabbits. However, after raising them for four months, the eight baby rabbits were found to be no different from ordinary rabbits.
Both the old Taoist priest Xuanyuan and his master foolishly did one thing: they kept a rabbit, a male and a female, and let it breed to see how its offspring differed from rabbits from the outside world. The result was exactly as Old Xiao had predicted: once outside that area, the offspring of animals raised there all became ordinary animals, with no difference between them and rabbits from the outside world.
Then the old Taoist priest conducted another experiment. He hatched 20 chicken eggs and 20 duck eggs, and then took 20 of each to hatch. The result was that the hatched chickens and ducks were no different from ordinary chickens and ducks, except that the meat was slightly more tender. However, the spiritual energy they possessed was significantly different from the initial batch of chickens, ducks, and rabbits. Afterward, the old Taoist priest and Xuanyuan sat there dejectedly, lost in thought for a long time.
The old Taoist master gathered a dozen or so fellow Taoists, slaughtered the remaining ten rabbits, and sat down together for a few drinks. They made spicy rabbit heads and rabbit hot pot—basically, the kind of dishes you'd find in the market. They prepared a dozen or so dishes right there in the temple, with these dozen or so old Taoists—the elite of the time—gathered together. After eating, they meditated for four hours to digest, then drank tea and discussed the matter.
The old Taoist priest said, "What my friend said is true. This thing is probably because of what it eats, drinks, and the environment. Once it comes out, the next generation will become ordinary plants and animals as long as they are in this world. There won't be much difference, except that they will taste a little better, but they will have very little spiritual energy. So it's not that he is unwilling to take it out, but whether we raise it or plant it again, there probably won't be much difference. It will just be an ordinary crop."
It's almost August or September again, the golden autumn season. Schools are on summer vacation, and another summer break is upon us. Just before summer vacation started, Lao Xiao received news that the old Taoist priest in the group of four asked, "How much spirit rice and spirit flour can be sold this year?"
Old Xiao said, "He doesn't know yet. He'll ask his friend after summer vacation starts, and if he finds any, he'll save them with the old Taoist priest."
The old Taoist priest said, "If you have extra, take more; several of their friends want this."
Old Xiao said, "Anyway, I'm only selling to the three of you. How you divide it is your problem."
The old Taoist priest said, "Alright."
The old Taoist priest had just finished discussing with Lao Xiao when he turned around and ran to his master, saying, "Master, you can't keep taking advantage of Ouyang every time you try to fleece someone, can you? No matter how much money my disciple has, you can't keep doing this. Your friends need to prepare their own funds, and calculate based on last year's price of 1000 yuan per kilogram, using the market currency."
The old Taoist's master said, "Okay, no problem. I'll send messages to those friends."
The old Taoist's master said in their group of a dozen or so old Taoists, "This year there's some sacred rice and noodles, but not much. Last year I distributed them to you without taking any money; it was all exchanged. But this year, will we follow last year's method, or something like that? People in the secular world will definitely want some gold and silver. Last year I took advantage of my grand-disciple; I can't take advantage of my grand-disciple again this year. You'd better figure out a way yourselves."
The dozen or so old Taoist priests in the group, along with Master Xuanyuan, were frantically scratching their heads, realizing they had no money. Since they hadn't been involved in worldly affairs much, their funds were truly limited. They were thinking of their disciples who had ample funds and quickly contacting each other to see who needed the item. They hoped to borrow a little from them and began raising the money.
Oh dear, those Taoist priests inadvertently let slip the story of the spiritual rice and noodles; their secrecy wasn't up to par. Some of their secular disciples, perhaps due to their loose tongues, unintentionally spread the word about that treasure. Some centuries-old families, ancient martial arts clans, and even some political figures have all discovered it and are discussing it privately.
While the upper echelons of society were discussing this matter, all wanting to purchase it with substantial funds, Lin Yue was unaware, Lao Xiao was unaware, Ouyang was unaware, and the old Taoist priest had only heard a little bit. The old Taoist priest's master finally flew into a rage, shouting at the dozen or so old Taoist priests in the group from the mountaintop: "You promised me you wouldn't spread this, but now everyone knows about it! How am I supposed to explain this to my friend who's cultivating?"
The old Taoist's master was muttering to himself on the mountaintop, "It's over, it's over, it's all over. We probably won't get anything at all. What should we do? What should we do?" The old Taoist kept muttering to himself for a long time, at his wit's end.
The old Taoist priest quickly descended the mountain, and Ouyang drove to the foot of the mountain to pick up his master, then sped towards Lao Xiao. Lao Xiao found it a bit strange that they had arranged to meet so hastily.
When the old Taoist priest and Ouyang appeared at Lao Xiao's hotpot restaurant, they sat in a private room. The old Taoist priest, head bowed and dejected, told Lao Xiao, "Lao Xiao, I'm sorry. When the top Taoist priests were preparing to distribute this batch of grain, some high-ranking figures inadvertently found out, and everyone wants it. My master is currently jumping up and down on the mountaintop. Do you think you can get a little more?"
Old Xiao was furious. He said, "I told you to keep it a secret and keep a low profile. There's not much stuff. My friend who practices cultivation doesn't want outside interference in his life; he has a very regular schedule. You've upset him, and he probably won't take anything out. After you do this, many eyes will be watching you. You came to my hot pot restaurant today, and you might already be being watched." Old Xiao sighed deeply. He said to Ouyang and the old Taoist priest, "I'll ask my friend about this. Let's not contact each other for now. I'll contact you again after he confirms how much he's taking out."
Just as Lao Xiao said, when the old Taoist priest and Ouyang drove down the mountain to Lao Xiao's hotpot restaurant, many eyes were watching them the whole way, but they didn't notice. Others were being monitored by cameras on the highway, but cameras on ordinary roads were constantly tracking where they went.
They came to Lao Xiao's restaurant, ate hotpot, and left. Several plainclothes officers had been staking out Lao Xiao's hotpot restaurant for days, trying to find out why the old Taoist priest and Ouyang had come there. They ate hotpot there for several days, but because they were from out of town, their bodies couldn't take it anymore, so they switched to the teahouse across from Lao Xiao's, sitting and drinking tea while keeping a close eye on Lao Xiao's hotpot restaurant all day.
Recently, Lin Yue was at home taking care of her three children during summer vacation and happened to be absent from Lao Xiao's hot pot restaurant to work as a cashier. Coincidentally, they still didn't notice Lin Yue's presence, only knowing that the old Taoist priest and Ouyang had made a special trip to this hot pot restaurant to eat. In the previous year, the old Taoist priest and Ouyang had also eaten at this hot pot restaurant several times.
Old Xiao's friend, surnamed Liu, also came to eat at his hot pot restaurant. Old Liu is a retired soldier, and with his sharp eyes, he noticed that many eyes were watching Old Xiao's hot pot restaurant.
Old Liu called Old Xiao over and asked him, "Is there anything special happening at your hot pot restaurant?"
Old Xiao said, "No, this hot pot restaurant is owned by me and a friend. It's summer vacation, right? She's staying home taking care of the kids and hasn't been working at the cashier. I've been watching over it lately, and my wife is also taking care of the kids. They've made plans to go out and have some fun with the kids."
Old Liu told Old Xiao, "There are at least seven groups of people watching your hot pot restaurant."
Old Xiao was taken aback: "Seven groups of people were watching, how did you figure that out?"
Old Xiao led his men to sit in a corner of the table on the balcony of the hot pot restaurant so they could talk more easily.
Old Liu called Old Xiao over and said to him, "Look, I've pointed to the spot with the chopsticks. Don't turn around yet. Let me tell you who these people are. First, scan the room and tell me about their characteristics. Look at the teahouse across the street. Jump down from the balcony and you can see the whole teahouse in front of you."
Lao Cai, a friend of Lao Liu, also said, "Brother Xiao, you've got quite a few people watching you, watching your hot pot restaurant. Is your hot pot restaurant blocking their path to wealth? So many people are watching, and they're all professionals. Many of them are like me and Brother Liu, either veterans or people with some martial arts skills. There are also some plainclothes police officers around here."
Old Liu said, "Anyone who didn't know better would think you had some important person here, or some kind of criminal den. So many people are watching." Old Cai and Old Liu kept laughing, laughing heartily beside him.
Old Xiao finally realized what was going on. He said, "Why are there so many unfamiliar faces coming to eat hot pot lately? They come today, tomorrow, and the day after tomorrow, coming every day to help me generate revenue. They're all strangers." Old Xiao was also laughing.
The funniest thing was that after finishing the food, he didn't forget to give his opinion. He said the taste was pretty good. You could tell he spoke with a strong Northeastern accent. Old Xiao said this while laughing.
Old Liu calmly and seriously told Old Xiao, "You should be more careful. It seems that your hot pot restaurant is being targeted by more than just these seven groups of people. Look over there, hehehe, Old Liu said, guess who those people are? There's a group of thugs and a group of street thugs, all watching you."
Old Cai suddenly said, "You should be careful when you get home. Don't let anyone deflate your tires, or tamper with your car, like messing with your brake cables or other parts. And what if they put a sack over your head? With so many people in the world, it's not uncommon for someone to disappear suddenly. Old Xiao, you should be more careful lately and see if you've offended anyone."
After Lao Liu and Lao Cai left, Lao Xiao sat in his office, brewed a pot of tea, and stood by the window with a cigarette dangling from his lips, silently thinking: "These few damned Taoist priests have caused me so much trouble. So many people are watching me. I haven't dared to go to Lin Yue's house lately, afraid of implicating her. What am I going to do? These people will definitely be watching for a long time. It seems I won't be able to sell the spiritual rice and noodles this year. So many people are watching. I hope nothing bad happens."
Lin Yue and Xiao Hui were planning a trip together, and there were two adults with four children. Where to go? Lin Yue found an old Taoist temple online. A child there had been practicing Tai Chi for a month, and she and Xiao Hui decided to go and stay there for a month, while the adults learned some health preservation methods. Lin Yue wanted to escape the hustle and bustle of daily life and relax at the temple.
In the evening, Lin Yue and Xiao Hui booked high-speed train tickets online to a famous old Taoist temple, a place where practitioners could practice their skills. It also hosted visiting monks. Their plan was to practice there for a month before returning to Rongcheng. The month's schedule included tennis, guzheng, swimming, and martial arts lessons. Lin Yue also planned to take the children home to visit their grandparents.
Lin Yue and Xiao Hui were filled with anticipation for the trip. They imagined finding inner peace and tranquility in the Taoist temple, allowing the children to grow and learn in a unique environment. For the children, this was not just a trip, but a unique learning experience. Lin Yue, too, longed to temporarily escape the troubles and worries of daily life, allowing her soul to be cleansed and relaxed.