6kv Chapter 151 What kind of bastard is this?! He thinks he can just steal away the goddess of beauty?!
Chapter 151 What kind of bastard is this?! He thinks he can just steal away the goddess of beauty?!
Chapter 151 What kind of bastard is this?! He wants to kidnap the goddess of beauty?! (Second update, 5200 words)
It was noon.
The sun was high in the sky.
Inside the Sanqing Hall of Zhenlong Temple, wisps of incense smoke curled upwards.
Lu Yuan stood outside the palace gate, holding three sticks of incense between his fingers.
He turned his head to look at Song Meiqin and Zhao Qiao'er behind him.
The two beautiful aunties had just changed their outfits.
Shedding its extravagance, it remains simple and pure.
Song Meiqin wore a moon-white jacket and skirt, with only a plain silver hairpin in her hair.
Zhao Qiao'er wore a light gray cotton dress, and her usually beautiful face was completely bare of makeup.
His clean and tidy face exuded a dignified and solemn air rarely seen on him.
"Have you memorized all the rules?"
Lu Yuan spoke.
The two nodded in unison.
On the way here, Lu Yuan repeatedly gave instructions and reminders.
When entering the temple, one must not speak, laugh, or turn one's back to the gods.
When offering incense, hold it with your left hand and protect it with your right hand. The incense stick must be upright and not lean to one side.
After the ceremony, one must not turn around, but take three steps back before turning sideways to exit the hall.
The rules and regulations of Taoism are complex and numerous.
But today we are paying homage to the ancestors of Zhenlong Temple, so we must still show respect no matter how complicated the ritual is.
Lu Yuan turned around, stepped over the high threshold, and entered the Sanqing Hall.
The interior of the hall was dimly lit.
Three tall statues of gods sit solemnly in their shrines, their eyes lowered as they look down upon all living beings.
The Primordial Celestial Venerable sits in the center, his left hand making a gesture of reaching out, while his right hand holds a pearl.
Lingbao Tianzun, seated on the left, holds a jade ruyi (a type of scepter).
The Righteous and Moral Celestial Venerable sits on the right, holding a fan and with his sleeves hanging down.
The three golden statues appeared and disappeared in the blue smoke, their appearance solemn and dignified.
Below the statue of the deity, a long offering table lies across the ground.
Incense burner, candlesticks, seasonal fruits, and two cups of tea are arranged in order.
Lu Yuan led his two wives to offer incense, silently reciting Taoist scriptures in his heart.
After paying their respects to the Three Pure Ones, the three of them went into a side hall.
The ancestral tablets of the Zhenlong Temple lineage are enshrined here.
On the topmost sandalwood plaque, large gold characters are painted in bold, iron-like strokes.
[The True Man Who Responds to the Origin of the Nine Heavens and Enforces the Laws, the Heavenly Venerable Who Controls Thunder, the Golden Thunder Who Breaks Through Illusions, and the Position of the Nine Thunders].
Look down from the altar.
One piece on top of another, some with fresh ink, others faded with the passage of time.
Lu Yuan's gaze swept across the room, then suddenly stopped at the very bottom.
Hey!
Lu Yuan glanced at the empty memorial tablet at the very bottom, which belonged to the old man.
There was nothing written on it.
But Lu Yuan knew that this was prepared for him by the old man.
This is not unusual.
Elderly people in rural areas often prepare their funeral clothes and portraits in advance as they get older.
The only problem is that this old man left this thing here before he went to find the Ghost-Controlling Liu family.
It's got a bit of bad luck on it.
Lu Yuan paused for a moment, then stopped looking, composed himself, and walked to the offering table.
Song Meiqin and Zhao Qiao'er lagged behind by a half step, holding their breath and not daring to make the slightest sound.
Lu Yuan brought out nine sticks of incense.
He lit a fire and distributed it to his two wives.
"Receive the incense with your left hand and protect it with your right."
Song Meiqin and Zhao Qiao'er accepted the incense sticks as instructed, holding them in both hands, and slowly knelt down in front of the ancestral tablets.
The prayer cushions had been laid out long ago.
The two knelt upright, their backs straight, holding incense sticks above their heads with utmost respect.
Lu Yuan held incense, faced the altar, and bowed three times.
After standing up, he spoke loudly.
The sound echoed in the quiet side hall.
"Lu Yuan, a disciple of Zhenlong Temple, today brings his wife Song Meiqin and Zhao Qiao'er to pay homage to the ancestral masters of all generations."
The three of them then bowed three times together.
One bow.
Second bow.
Three bows.
After bowing three times, Song Meiqin and Zhao Qiao'er got up and walked to the large incense burner.
Following the previously taught rules, carefully insert the incense stick into the ash.
After the incense was placed, Lu Yuan led them to the rows of ancestral tablets.
"This is the founding master."
Lu Yuan explained.
Song Meiqin and Zhao Qiao'er bowed in unison.
"This is the second generation patriarch."
The two bowed again.
Lu Yuan introduced each item to the past, and the two bowed to each item in turn.
After paying respects to the ancestral masters, Lu Yuan led the two to a small incense burner on the side of the hall.
The incense burner was inconspicuous, much smaller than the one on the offering table, and placed in a corner, as if it had been forgotten.
The incense burner was full of ash, with several sticks of freshly burned incense sticks stuck in it.
"Who is this for?"
Song Meiqin asked softly, and Zhao Qiao'er was also full of curiosity.
Lu Yuan stared at the ashes filling the furnace, pausing for a moment.
"This is for the nameless disciples of Zhenlong Temple throughout the ages."
"Those who didn't make it through, those who gave up halfway, and those who died out there with no trace of their remains."
The words were simple, yet they brought a pang of sadness to the two women's hearts.
Lu Yuan took three incense sticks by himself, lit them, and steadily inserted them into the small incense burner.
"No memorial tablets were erected for them, but they are also the blood and flesh of Zhenlong Temple."
Song Meiqin and Zhao Qiao'er exchanged a glance.
The two men stepped forward spontaneously, lit incense, and offered it respectfully.
A few wisps of smoke rose and merged into the incense burning in the main hall.
Lu Yuan did not bow down again, but stood quietly in front of the furnace, watching the sparks flicker.
"Alright, let's go."
He turned around and walked outside with his two wives.
The moment he stepped across the threshold, Lu Yuan looked back.
Inside the hall, incense burned brightly, and the walls were covered with silent shrines.
In the small incense burner in the corner, the newly added fragrance is burning brightly.
He looked away and strode out.
Master Zhou, who was guarding the door, stepped forward and slowly closed the heavy temple door.
The afternoon sun shone warmly on the three of them.
Zhao Qiao'er let out a long breath and patted her chest: "Finally out. I didn't even dare to breathe loudly inside."
Song Meiqin also shed her dignified demeanor, and a lively smile reappeared on her face.
The sense of oppression was overwhelming in front of those majestic ancestral tablets.
Looking at his two wives, who had let down their guard and were now acting coquettishly again, Lu Yuan couldn't help but tease them.
"What are you afraid of? We're all family. Do you think our ancestors would eat you up?"
"Alright, the formalities have been observed."
"You guys go play mahjong with the goddess, I need to go back and take care of Qingwan's affairs."
After saying that, he waved his hand and walked straight to the backyard.
Two still-attractive and beautiful aunties were left standing there.
The two women rolled their eyes in a coquettish manner as they watched their husbands' decisive backs.
This little thing.
They use people and then run away.
The matter concerning Qingwan has come to a temporary end.
The list of materials for the leg graft has been prepared and given to Aunt Qiao'er's business association to collect.
The ritual of tongue continuation has begun; all that remains is to wait seven days.
Lu Yuan was finally able to extricate himself from these matters and plunge into the mundane affairs of Zhenlong Temple.
This stay lasted for two whole days.
From rearranging the routes for the disciples to carry out their work to approving massive procurement lists.
From background checks and team formation for newly accepted disciples, there are countless details and complexities involved.
Today, Zhenlong Temple is no longer the quiet little Taoist temple it once was.
Before the aftermath of clearing out the evil-bringing land had subsided, the name of the Celestial Venerable of this era had already spread.
The landlords from the foot of the mountain almost wore out the threshold of Zhenlong Temple.
This is a real opportunity for Zhenlongguan.
You must not make mistakes when you are in a hurry.
Currently, Zhenlong Temple has many new disciples in addition to many existing owners.
Some of them are children who want to enter the temple to learn the craft.
Others are teachers who already possess skills, such as—
Many disciples from Baiyun Temple came.
Lu Yuan treated all these people equally.
Lu Yuan believes in keeping things separate and not taking his anger out on others.
The matter with Baiyun Temple was due to the elder's malfunction, but the ordinary disciples were innocent.
In particular, the disciples of Baiyun Temple are more well-known than some wandering Taoist priests.
To find out what kind of person he is, what his past is like, and whether he has committed any misdeeds, you can just go to Fengtian City and ask around.
As long as they are not mentally ill and are not criminals, they can be recruited.
To be honest, the disciples who are accepted into Baiyun Temple, especially the ordinary disciples, are generally fine.
As a top-tier Taoist temple with centuries of history, it has managed to establish itself next to Fengtian City, one of the most prosperous cities outside the Great Wall.
The management of ordinary disciples is absolutely flawless.
These people are now considered invaluable by Zhenlong Temple.
They can take up their posts as soon as they arrive, and they can immediately lead their teams to get things done.
In fact, to be fair, these people brought with them a lot of experience from top-tier Taoist temples.
As the saying goes, "Among three people walking together, there must be one who can teach me."
One should be broad-minded and not let the past events at Baiyun Temple influence one's character.
Just like Chang Naichao in Bright Sword, who was not good at running, he was clearly a defeated general and was clearly captured by the Third Field Army.
But in the end, he became an instructor at the military academy, teaching classes to our old Li.
certainly----
Old Li didn't listen.
However, Lu Yuan is someone who is willing to listen.
Of course, Lu Yuan wouldn't listen to everyone else completely; he would keep the good ones and discard the bad ones.
Over the next two days, Lu Yuan organized the disciples of Zhenlong Temple and formed them into teams.
Speaking of which—
Wang Cheng'an and Xu Erxiao, those two little devils, have gone from following Lu Yuan around calling him "Brother Lu" to now.
He became what others called a "brother"~
These two had traveled all over the country with Lu Yuan and were quite knowledgeable.
Although still a bit green, he was quite at ease leading a few junior disciples who had just started learning to handle minor tasks involving possession by evil spirits.
For two days, Lu Yuan locked himself in his room and basically didn't go out except to urinate or defecate.
All three meals a day were delivered to me by others.
As for Qingwan, Aunt Qiao'er, and the other three—
Alas!
The four of them are doing well these past few days.
In the side hall next to Qingwan's, they were chatting and laughing while playing mahjong.
This is really good. For Aunt Qiao'er and Aunt Qin, they have something to do and don't have to stay cooped up in Zhenlong Temple all day doing nothing. This is great.
Lu Yuan thought it was fine with Gu Qingwan.
Perhaps Gu Qingwan doesn't know what loneliness is, or even has the concept of loneliness.
But before, I was always all alone, but now I have Aunt Qiao'er and Aunt Qin to talk to every day.
Lu Yuan thought it was a good idea.
Furthermore, Lu Yuan didn't see Qingwan finding it annoying or anything.
People are following along now, circling left and right three times.
As for the goddess of beauty—
Hey!
This round is hers!
She's the happiest!
In Lu Yuan's opinion, this goddess of beauty really does have a rather carefree personality.
The last time she met Qingwan, Qingwan almost strangled her.
The second time they met, he immediately tried to get people to play mahjong with him.
Putting aside the fact that this goddess is neither afraid nor holds a grudge, it's as if she has completely forgotten what happened before.
All Lu Yuan could say was "awesome."
Being able to play mahjong with people every day is a blessing for her carefree personality.
How did you say that?
Enjoy it to the fullest!
On the third day, the first light of dawn appeared.
"Squeak!"
The door was pushed open, and Lu Yuan walked out, stretching lazily in the warm rising sun.
The joints inside my body made a series of crackling sounds, like popping beans.
Two days of painstaking effort resulted in the Taoist temple operating in an orderly manner for the next few months.
The sense of accomplishment from personally getting everything back on track is truly captivating.
"Yo~"
"I finally decided to come out of the house."
Lu Yuan hadn't even lowered his hand while stretching when he heard a sweet sound beside him.
Ok?
Lu Yuan turned around and saw that it was the Goddess of Beauty.
The goddess glanced at him sideways, her eyes sparkling with a hint of coquettishness.
Although the goddess of beauty wasn't the type of mature woman Lu Yuan liked, he had to admit it.
The title of "God of Perfection" is well-deserved.
She leaned casually against the door frame, one toe lightly touching the ground, her figure out in a breathtaking curve.
The morning light bathed her in a soft golden glow, making her appear otherworldly.
In her hand, she held a frozen pear that had been partially bitten; the dark, glossy fruit made her fingertips appear even more delicate and snow-white.
The beauty of the goddess of beauty is not a particular style, but rather—
perfect.
Lu Yuan had seen that face many times, but every time he did, he was still shocked.
It wasn't just amazing, it was truly "shocking".
It was like seeing the sunrise for the first time, the ocean for the first time, or a sky full of stars for the first time—a completely unexpected and overwhelming experience.
Her eyebrows and eyes were exquisitely beautiful.
It's not the kind of exquisite craftsmanship that's artificially sculpted, but rather something that's perfectly natural.
Her eyebrows were neither too thick nor too thin, perfectly complementing her beautiful eyes that shone like stars.
Her eyes were neither too big nor too small, just the right size for her face.
Her nose is neither too high nor too low, just right to support the contours of her entire face.
Perfection upon perfection.
But—as I said before, others might get caught up in it, but Lu Yuan won't.
"Why aren't you playing mahjong?"
"Still one short for mahjong, looking for me to make up the numbers?"
Lu Yuan lowered his hand and made a joke.
Upon hearing this, the goddess of beauty glanced at him with a captivating, alluring look and rolled her eyes.
Um----
The goddess of beauty wouldn't have acted like this before, especially with that captivating, alluring eye roll—
She must have learned it from Aunt Qin or Aunt Qiao'er.
"You wish!"
"Qingwan wanted to eat frozen pears, so I went to the dining hall to get her a few. When I came back, I saw you coming out of the house."
As she spoke, the goddess took out her other hand from behind her back and waved it.
Her fair and slender fingers held three dark, frozen pears.
Looking at her smug little face, Lu Yuan couldn't help but purse his lips.
Alas!
They've even picked up the accent from outside the Great Wall!
"Perfect timing, I'll go take a look too."
Lu Yuan lifted his foot and walked towards the side hall.
The goddess of beauty followed him with light, graceful steps, offering him the frozen pear she had already taken a bite of.
"Here, want some?"
Lu Yuan turned to look at her.
The small crack on the frozen pear still held a trace of glistening juice, sparkling in the sunlight.
To be honest, I'm actually starting to crave it.
Lu Yuan subconsciously reached out his hand.
The goddess of beauty, however, flipped her wrist to dodge his hand and hid the three frozen pears she was holding behind her back.
They simply passed the one they had already eaten to the front a little further.
She raised her delicate eyebrows and said sweetly, "Eat mine, save these three for them!"
Lu Yuan:
Lu Yuan remained silent, but the Goddess of Beauty raised her delicate eyebrows slightly, somewhat displeased, and said, "Eek!"
"What do you mean? You're actually looking down on me?"
"Our destinies are intertwined, and I've already done you such a huge favor, you—"
Before the goddess could finish speaking, Lu Yuan took the frozen pear from her hand.
Right in front of her, he took a big, hard suck on the spot where she had just bitten him.
The cool, sweet juice exploded in my mouth instantly.
While sucking on a frozen pear, Lu Yuan mumbled indistinctly, "You learn things really fast. Counting the time you spent in Fengtian City, plus these last two days, your accent has completely changed."
As the goddess watched his actions, her previous dissatisfaction vanished instantly, and her beautiful eyes curved into lovely crescents.
"not good?"
Lu Yuan shook his head and said, "Very good."
Lu Yuan then took a big gulp of the frozen pear before asking curiously, "You've been calling Qingwan, so you two must have been getting along well these past few days?"
The goddess immediately nodded smugly.
"Hmm~"
"We had no grudge against each other to begin with, but it was all because of you!"
Lu Yuan: "————"
Good grief, it's as if he was the one who instigated it all along.
Lu Yuan didn't bring up the matter again, but suddenly thought of something and looked at the goddess curiously, asking, "What have you been doing these past two nights squatting by the west gate of the back building?"
Lu Yuan discovered something these past two days.
Besides playing mahjong, the goddess has been wandering around Zhenlong Temple these past few days.
Um----
To be precise, she went for a stroll after Aunt Qiao'er and Aunt Qin stopped playing mahjong.
After all, Aunt Qiao'er and Aunt Qin are neither goddesses of beauty nor Qingwan.
These two beautiful aunties are ordinary people.
Playing mahjong every day is fine, but you can't play day and night, that would be exhausting.
After dinner, Aunt Qiao'er and Aunt Qin usually rest.
At this point, the goddess of beauty began to stroll around.
That's nothing unusual.
She is a deity who has transformed objects into spirits, and has an innate affinity for these Taoist temples and monasteries.
She would go into every room in the Sanqing Hall, the side hall, and the backyard, looking around and touching everything, like a curious child.
But in the end, he will be guarding the west gate.
As for how Lu Yuan knew...
Firstly, their destinies are intertwined; the goddess can find Lu Yuan, and Lu Yuan can also vaguely sense the goddess's location.
Secondly, Lu Yuan witnessed this when he went out to urinate in the middle of the night and casually went to the dining hall to grab some late-night snacks.
At first, Lu Yuan didn't pay attention, thinking she was just bored.
Later it was discovered that she was indeed "guarding".
Every night after nightfall, she would move a small stool and sit upright at the mountain gate, her beautiful eyes fixed on the dark night below.
I watched it all night long.
Lu Yuan was busy with something the other day, so he didn't ask. He went back to his room immediately after urinating.
Now Lu Yuan was curious.
Hearing Lu Yuan's words, the goddess blinked, and a rare serious expression appeared on her beautiful face.
"Something wants to come up."
Lu Yuan: "?"
"What is it?"
The goddess thought for a moment, seemingly searching for a suitable word.
"Not human."
She shook her head.
"It's not a ghost either."
"It's—some other stuff."
Lu Yuan continued to look at the goddess with a puzzled expression.
The goddess's delicate brows furrowed slightly, and she tilted her head, seemingly trying her best to organize her thoughts.
After a long while, she finally managed to squeeze out a sentence, albeit somewhat uncertainly.
"They—they feel so familiar, yet so repulsive to me."
"They said I was on their side."
The goddess paused, looked up at Lu Yuan, and her eyes showed a hint of confusion.
"I am God."
"They—it seems so too."
"They said that gods shouldn't guard the gates for mortals, and told me to go with them."
Lu Yuan's expression froze.
He blinked, processing the information in those words.
Well, theoretically speaking, the goddess of beauty is a deity who embodies objects; she is a proper deity.
She really shouldn't be guarding the gates for humans.
That's absolutely right.
The goddess is here now because she's entangled with Lu Yuan by fate.
Once their fateful entanglement is resolved, he won't be able to keep her even if he wanted to.
but----
The problem is————
Oh shit!!
What kind of dog-grass is this? Trying to steal away the goddess of beauty?!
Kidnapping people, right to your own doorstep, huh?!
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