The Happy Farmer Wanderer-Chapter 349: Reunion with the Old Taoist Priest_1
Li Qing spent the entire afternoon checking his dormitory inside and out.
He even knocked on every inch of the wall to inspect it.
The fact was, there was nothing out of the ordinary here, not to mention a mirror.
Not even a speck of dust!
It made him feel both a creepy chill and a strong surge of curiosity.
But until he left work in the evening, he hadn’t figured anything out.
Li Qing decided to give up.
Some things were just beyond his understanding.
Better to believe they exist than not, he thought; it was time to make a swift exit.
But just as he was leaving the school gate at the end of work, he encountered another rather eerie event.
In the crowd, he saw the old Daoist priest from the Nine Truth Palace!
It was the peak of the school day’s end, and students were streaming out of the gates in droves.
Yet Li Qing spotted the old Daoist priest among them in a single glance.
He was dressed in a gray Daoist robe, with a long bundle slung over his back.
The old Daoist stood there like an aged pine tree, motionless, looking up at the sky above the school.
The collision of two strange events left Li Qing’s mind in a somewhat indescribable state of confusion.
He had the distinct feeling that something was about to happen.
After some hesitation, Li Qing still approached the old Daoist.
"Daoist Priest, we meet again!" Li Qing asked reluctantly.
The old priest grimaced as if in pain when he saw Li Qing, eyed him up and down, and muttered, "No wonder!"
"What do you mean, Daoist Priest?" Li Qing was a bit confused.
This reaction from the priest was somewhat unexpected.
"You have a fate with the Dao, sir. Shouldn’t you make preparations early?" the priest said, suddenly cheerful.
Li Qing instantly became serious, shaking his head as if it were a rattle-drum, "Daoist Priest, you see what a mess I’m in the mundane world; if I were to join the tranquil life of a Daoist, I’m afraid I would only tarnish the reputation of the Daoist community."
"No rush, no rush, jade must be carved to become an artifact. As for a stone, well, it will have its moment of awakening," the old priest said amiably, without pressing Li Qing further.
This left Li Qing even more perplexed.
"What are you doing here, Daoist Priest?" Li Qing asked.
"What can an old Daoist like me do?" the priest sighed.
"Naturally, it’s to vanquish demons and protect the Dao!"
Li Qing: ...
This was kind of expected.
"So, you mean to say there really are demons and ghosts?" Li Qing pressed on.
He was both scared and curious about that haunted house in the storage area!
The sudden appearance of the old Daoist priest increased his curiosity about that place even more.
"I didn’t say that," the old priest shook his head, "Actually, I can only read Feng Shui!"
"There is something problematic with the Feng Shui here, I wonder if you’re interested in sneaking in with me to take a look?"
Li Qing could tell by now that the old Daoist never spoke a straight truth.
"Daoist Priest, early isn’t as good as timely, and as it happens, there’s a place with Feng Shui that I’d like you to take a good look at! Moreover, there’s no need for us to sneak in; outsiders are not prohibited here, we might as well enter with heads held high!" Li Qing decided to invite the old Daoist to take a look at that haunted house.
Besides, he faintly felt that the old Daoist’s presence here was probably related to that place.
"Then, I shall trouble you, young friend!" the old priest said with a chuckle, stroking his beard.
Afterward, the two swaggered into the school.
The security guard at the gate, seeing the Daoist’s attire, wanted to approach, but seeing Li Qing beside him, he refrained and merely waved from a distance.
Once inside the school gate, Li Qing led the old Daoist directly to the logistics area.
"Young friend, you’ve led us down the wrong path; it’s not here!"
The old Daoist stopped at the entrance to the logistics area.
"Priest, you’re right, it’s here. I’m telling you, there’s something fishy about this place!" Li Qing urged.
"Young friend, you don’t know that some stones are dangerous, they hurt people, and they’re dangerous to other things too!" the old Daoist swayed his head, looking profound and enigmatic, and sighed, "The place I’m looking for isn’t here, it should be over there."
Li Qing followed the old priest’s gaze.
It was Purple Cloud Mountain.
The Third Middle School was built against Purple Cloud Mountain, with a playground that had been carved out of half of the mountain’s belly.
Wait... Hold on!
Li Qing suddenly took note of something the old priest had said earlier.
"Priest, you’re not suggesting I’m the one that’s dangerous, to people and other things, are you?" Li Qing asked, surprised and suspicious.
Although this mystical-acting old Daoist liked speaking in riddles, Li Qing sort of understood what he meant.
He was the so-called nonsense stone the old priest was talking about.
"The old priest was talking about a stone!" the old priest, tugging at his beard, emphasized sternly, "Are you a stone?"
"You mean you weren’t implying that all along?" Li Qing asked angrily.
He was really getting angry.
This old priest, with his cryptic way of talking, seemed like he was born only to speak in riddles and never speak straightforwardly. 𝕗𝐫𝚎𝗲𝘄𝐞𝕓𝐧𝕠𝘃𝕖𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝚖
The old Daoist blew his nose and shook his head, "I never said that!"
"But I have said that you could be one of us, sooner or later, that much I truly admit."
Li Qing: ...
If it weren’t for the fact that hitting someone might lead to bigger trouble, Li Qing would really like to punch this old guy in the face.
He was asking for a beating.
While they were talking, a little boy suddenly ran out from the logistics area.
"Uncle, can you help me find my mom? I can’t find her!"
Li Qing hurried over, "Little buddy, why are you here by yourself? Do you know your mom’s name?"
Now that he was the only person in this place, and with all the strange happenings of the day, the sudden appearance of a child made Li Qing instinctively nervous.
"My mom’s name is Qi Mengru," the little boy said in a tender voice.
Qi Mengru?
Li Qing inwardly sighed, the world really is damn small.
He had encountered Mengru’s son again.
He had seen Mengru entering the teaching building with this chubby kid in the morning, but hadn’t seen the face and didn’t recognize him at first.
"Alright, I’ll take you to find your mom," Li Qing said.
He really didn’t dare to leave a child alone in this place.
"Priest!"
Just as Li Qing was about to say a word to the old priest, he turned and found the old Daoist was gone.
"Priest?"
Li Qing called out loudly, looking around.
"Uncle, I saw the old grandfather go into the ground!" the little boy suddenly said.
"Go into the ground?!" Li Qing repeated with a shocked face.
The little boy didn’t say anything more, just cracked a smile.
But that smile instantly gave Li Qing a scalp-tingling feeling.
An ominous chill enveloped him for a moment.
He stared intently at the little boy, but no longer felt the same way as before.
Li Qing gave a wry smile and shook his head, assuming he was just jittery from being rattled all day.
"Let’s go, uncle will take you to find your mom!" Li Qing grabbed the little boy’s hand.
"Ah!"
At the moment Li Qing grabbed the little boy’s hand, the boy suddenly let out a scream, then thumped onto the ground.
