Chapter 25: A Pure Heart for Dao Part Three

“F*ck that!” Spiritual Master Xiao said, “If His Majesty isn’t competitive, you would be following me as I wander on streets and try to tell fortunate for others using divination. You followed me later; you can go and ask your senior brothers; which one of them haven’t lied for dozens of cash coins? As long as the wealthy families gave more money, we would say more nice things. One Qi Daoist Temple was built ten years ago because I lied to His Majesty and said that Pure Joy Mountain is where the Daoist Sect could prosper.”

[TL Note: FYI, in ancient China, 1 gold tael = 10 silver taels, 1 silver taels = 10 strings of cash coins, and 1 string of cash coins = 1,000 cash coins. For a better comparison, one cash coin is close to one dollar, and one silver tael is close to 10,000 dollars.]

“Huh?” The little daoist was shocked, and he quickly asked, “How come you never mentioned this before?”

“Why would I say such things? It is not positive. Go and pour a cup of water for Master.”

Spiritual Master Xiao sat up, took off his socks, and rubbed his sore feet. Then, he rubbed his index finger between his toes and appeared enjoying this. Judging from his face, it felt like rubbing his feet was the most enjoyable thing in the world; he looked nothing like the Leader of Daoism.

At this moment, someone suddenly asked outside the door, “Is Spiritual Master here?”

Spiritual Master Xiao was surprised, and he quickly put on his socks and shoes. Then, he replied, “I was reading Dao De Jing, and I just obtained new inspiration. I was planning to discuss it with you. Gold-Sharing Duke, please come in.”

[TL Note: Dao De Jing is an ancient literature about Daoism and one of the origin texts.]

Wu Yidao smiled and walked in. Then, he frowned and said, “This Dao De Jing’s smell is unique.”

Spiritual Master Xiao smiled awkwardly and ordered the little daoist to serve tea.

Wu Yidao stood on the side and looked at the landscape painting on the wall. After the little daoist turned around and left, he suddenly bowed toward Spiritual Master Xiao.

Spiritual Master Xiao quickly walked up and said, “Gold-Sharing Duke, you donated a large sum of money, and I haven’t had the chance to thank you. Why are you thanking me first?”

“Spiritual Master, I’m here to ask for a favor.”

“Gold-Sharing Duke, please speak. I will do everything in my power to help.”

Wu Yidao stood up and hesitated for a moment before saying, “I will be direct. I have a daughter who is in the age range of getting married. In the last while, some people in the Royal Palace said that His Majesty wants to summon my daughter into the Royal Palace as a concubine to thank me for my work in renovating one of the four city walls of the Capital. However, my daughter is wild and might anger His Majesty, bringing back a disaster. Therefore…”

“You want me to accept your daughter as a disciple?” Spiritual Master Xiao frowned and asked, “But daoists can still get married.”

“No worries. I will say that my daughter has a pure heart for Dao and wouldn’t leave Pure Joy Mountain unless she cultivated to the peak, so His Majesty can’t pressure us too much. Besides, even though my daughter isn’t as talented, she was tested, and 122 qi-points are open out of 128.”

“I accept her!” Spiritual Master Xiao nodded and said, “If His Majesty askes, I will find a good excuse.”

“Thank you!” Wu Yidao was excited and bowed toward Spiritual Master Xiao again.

“The only thing is that… it is cold and bitter in the mountain. I’m afraid that you daughter might not be used to it,” Spiritual Master Xiao sighed.

“I will donate 5,000 more taels of gold,” Wu Yidao said as he pulled out another stack of gold certificates from his sleeves. “This should be barely enough for my daughter to spend in the next three years.”

“Since your daughter is so sincere, how can I reject her?”

“If His Majesty askes…”

“Don’t worry. It won’t be my first time lying to His Majesty.”

At this moment, six people came to the foot of Pure Joy Mountain. Four of them were males, and two of them were females.

Among them, a muscular man who was more than two meters tall was extremely eye-catching, and he carried a saber that was about the size of half a door on his back. The man in black at the front didn’t carry a weapon, but he stared at the green stone stairs before him dully.

There was also an old man with a pair of cymbals hanging by his waist and a bald muscular man with a metal staff.

As to the two women, one of them had a sword in her arms, and the other one was unarmed.

“Is this Pure Joy Mountain?” one of the muscular men asked, “That Spiritual Master Xiao is famous and is known as the Leader of Daoism. At least in Great Sui, he is on the same level as Great Wheel Wisdom King. Will he accept us now that we are coming to him without prior notice?”

The cold woman with the sword in her arms grinned and said, “If he doesn’t, I will kill one of his disciples a day. There are 800 disciples; he will have enough time to decide.”

“No.” The other beautiful girl in a black long dress shook her head and slowly knelt before the stairs. “I have a pure heart for Dao; why wouldn’t Spiritual Master Xiao accept me? If we can stay here, you wouldn’t need to battle everyday. I will do the begging; none of you need to get involved.”