13
“It seems I’ve disappointed you, Senior Apprentice Brother,” Qi Yanshu said, not angered by Zuo Xingping’s rudeness, only speaking indifferently. “I am still very much alive.”
Jiang Mian held her forehead and gently tugged at her Taoist Dad’s sleeve. Zuo Xingping also realized he had gone too far and scratched his head.
The atmosphere grew awkward. Fortunately, the elevator arrived. The three of them stepped inside. Looking at the white cloth over Qi Yanshu’s eyes, Zuo Xingping couldn’t suppress his curiosity and asked, “What happened to your eyes?”
Jiang Mian perked up her ears. She was also somewhat curious about Qi Yanshu’s eyes, but because they weren’t very familiar, she hadn’t felt comfortable asking directly.
Qi Yanshu was concise: “An accident.”
Sensing his coldness, Zuo Xingping said, “Oh,” and fell silent.
No one would be particularly pleased to be asked, with an astonished tone, “You’re not dead?” — as if the speaker had been hoping for their death.
Jiang Mian cleared her throat and spoke up to apologize on behalf of her Taoist Dad: “Uncle Qi, what my father said just now…”
She didn’t get to finish.
Zuo Xingping: “Uncle Qi? Mianmian, you two know each other?”
Qi Yanshu: “She’s your daughter?”
Jiang Mian looked blankly at the two of them, not understanding why they were so surprised. After a moment of silent stillness, the elevator stopped.
The three stepped out of the elevator. Qi Yanshu unlocked his door with his fingerprint and quickly entered his room, without saying a single word the entire time.
He was definitely angry.
Back inside her own place, Jiang Mian had to gently lecture her Taoist Dad: “Dad, what you said to Uncle Qi just now was very rude.”
The Taoist Dad was still puzzling over why his precious daughter called Qi Yanshu “Uncle” and seemed quite familiar with him.
Jiang Mian explained, “He’s from the Qi family. The Qi family and the Han family are, nominally, families with a long-standing friendship. By generational order, I should call him uncle.”
Zuo Xingping’s focus shifted again. He marveled, “So his secular family is that wealthy. No wonder he managed to move our Junior Master Uncle and make an exception to take him as a disciple.”
He sounded a bit sour. “Back when I wanted to apprentice myself to Junior Master Uncle, he refused even at the cost of his life. Said he didn’t take disciples.”
Jiang Mian: “…”
Zuo Xingping then explained to Jiang Mian his relationship with Qi Yanshu.
The Taoist temple the Taoist Dad had previously belonged to was called Siqing Temple, now renamed Lingqing Temple. Qi Yanshu had been sent to Lingqing Temple to cultivate from a young age, all to help him survive the life-or-death calamity of his thirtieth year.
At that time, Zuo Xingping’s master was still alive and had asserted that Qi Yanshu would absolutely not live past thirty.
Qi Yanshu’s master was Zuo Xingping’s junior master uncle, so the two of them were of the same generation.
Zuo Xingping’s impression of Qi Yanshu was that he was a golden child sent to the Taoist temple to extend his life, but one who was destined not to live past thirty. In the past, he occasionally returned to the temple and sometimes ran into Qi Yanshu.
He had been busy recently and hadn’t gone back. Calculating the time, he had thought this junior apprentice brother was no longer alive. Little did he expect that not only was the other man alive and well, but he also lived in the same complex, on the same floor, as his precious daughter. He couldn’t help but be surprised.
This aligned with the plot of the book—Qi Yanshu indeed hadn’t lived past thirty in the story. It was just that the book never mentioned that Qi Yanshu and the Taoist Dad were from the same school.
After explaining his relationship with Qi Yanshu, Zuo Xingping thought for a moment and said, “Mianmian, you should avoid interacting with him from now on.”
Jiang Mian asked instinctively, “Why?”
Zuo Xingping didn’t know what to say. He tried to come up with an excuse but couldn’t think of one on the spot. Finally, he simply told the truth: “He’s inherently ill-fated. Anyone close to him will be cursed by his fate. When he was sent to the Taoist temple as a child, it was partly because of his weak health, but also because of his fate. Staying away from his family is the only way to prevent misfortune from befalling them.”
“If you spend too much time around him, it might affect you badly.” Zuo Xingping actually disliked this kind of reasoning the most, but when it came to his precious daughter’s safety, he had to be selfish when necessary.
Jiang Mian: “…”
The original author must have poured all their affection onto the male and female leads, with every supporting character being more tragic than the last.
“Alright, let’s not talk about him anymore.” For Jiang Mian, Qi Yanshu was just a neighbor and an elder she knew. She also understood that her Taoist Dad was looking out for her. “Dad, you can stay here tonight.”
She had expected her Taoist Dad to happily agree, but instead, he shook his head, not meeting her eyes, and said vaguely, “I’ve taken on a job at 2 AM. I’ll have to leave later.”
After spending his savings on snacks for his precious daughter at the supermarket, he needed to earn some back. Otherwise, he wouldn’t even have money for food tomorrow.
What kind of job could there be in the middle of the night? Thinking of her Taoist Dad’s profession, Jiang Mian’s eyes lit up.
Although she had set up a small spirit-gathering formation in her room, the spiritual energy in the air was too sparse. The formation only increased the amount from a single drop per day to a small spoonful—far too little for Jiang Mian.
Since the spiritual energy in the world was so thin, if she wanted to cultivate, she would have to find other methods.
The first time she saw her Taoist Dad in this world, she could sense a cold, dark aura around him. This was a different kind of power. If she could harness it for her own use, wouldn’t that be equivalent to absorbing spiritual energy and aiding her cultivation?
She didn’t know what this cold, dark power was, but since her Taoist Dad had access to it, she would surely find a way to obtain it if she followed him. Now that an opportunity had presented itself, she couldn’t let it pass.
“Dad, I’ll come with you.”
“Huh?” The Taoist Dad was drinking a beverage and sprayed it out upon hearing this, choking dramatically.
Jiang Mian: “…”
“No, no, absolutely not.” This was the first time Jiang Mian had been denied a request by one of her fathers.
Zuo Xingping shook his head like a rattledrum, nearly shaking off his fake beard. “Mianmian, girls shouldn’t stay up late. You stay home and sleep well, okay?”
Zuo Xingping knew exactly what he was going to do. How could he let his precious daughter tag along? What if she got scared?
“Dad~” Jiang Mian wheedled, secretly putting her hands behind her back to keep her Taoist Dad from seeing the goosebumps rising on her arms.
But Zuo Xingping would agree to anything except when it came to his precious daughter’s safety. He firmly shook his head, then, afraid she might get upset and ignore him, racked his brain, thinking hard. “How about next time? Next time I’ll take you.”
Next time, he would take on a job inspecting a house’s feng shui or setting its spiritual energies. That way, it wouldn’t frighten his precious daughter.
Jiang Mian lowered her eyelashes and sat quietly beside him, not speaking.
Zuo Xingping looked at her. Seeing the crestfallen look on his precious daughter’s beautiful little face, his heart ached immediately. It was so rare for his precious daughter to make a request of him, and he couldn’t even fulfill it.
The Taoist Dad’s inner thoughts were in turmoil. Finally, he gritted his teeth. After all, he would be there. If any unclean things appeared, he would deal with them before his precious daughter even saw them. That way, she wouldn’t be scared.
With that thought, he quickly came closer. “Mianmian, don’t be upset. Dad agrees.”
“Thank you, Dad.” Jiang Mian looked up, her smile so obedient.
Seeing his daughter’s face light up with a smile again, Zuo Xingping smiled goofily along with her, completely unaware that his precious daughter was simply putting on an act~
Although he had agreed to bring Jiang Mian, Zuo Xingping still wanted to make one last attempt: “Mianmian, you have class tomorrow…”
Jiang Mian said, “No classes tomorrow morning, only in the afternoon.”
Zuo Xingping secretly hoped his precious daughter would get sleepy. When he saw Jiang Mian go into her bedroom, he thought she was tired and going to sleep.
A few minutes later, Jiang Mian came back out. She had changed into long sleeves and long pants that were easy to move in, and had tied her hair up, fully dressed as if ready to go out.
Zuo Xingping resigned himself to his fate.
At midnight, the father and daughter set off.
The place Zuo Xingping needed to go to was a middle school. Afraid that being too direct might scare his precious daughter, he told Jiang Mian, “This school is extremely poor. They can’t even afford a cleaning lady, so they asked me to do the cleaning. I’m cheap, after all.”
Jiang Mian: “…”
Jiang Mian held her forehead, once again left speechless by her Taoist Dad’s golden words.
They hailed a taxi. Zuo Xingping said to the driver, “To the Second Experimental Middle School.”
If Jiang Mian weren’t with him, he would either walk to the middle school or ride a shared bicycle. There was no way he would spend money on a taxi!
Forty minutes later, they arrived at their destination. Zuo Xingping was just about to take out his yellow cloth pouch to pay the fare when Jiang Mian pulled him out of the car. Zuo Xingping looked bewildered. “Mianmian, we haven’t paid yet.”
Jiang Mian shook her phone. “I already paid with my phone.”
She had discovered another trait of her Taoist Dad: he didn’t really use modern communication tools. Everything was cash — his phone was one of those old-fashioned button phones that could only make calls and send texts.
The school was far from the city center, and with it being midnight, the surroundings were very quiet. The night breeze blew, creating a somewhat eerie atmosphere. Zuo Xingping immediately asked, “Mianmian, are you cold?”
Jiang Mian shook her head. She was observing the middle school. Although she hadn’t entered yet, she could already feel that faint, elusive cold, dark power. Coming here with her Taoist Dad was definitely the right choice!
Jiang Mian was a little excited.
“Why is it locked?” Zuo Xingping looked at the tightly shut iron gate of the school, then at the pitch-black security booth next to it. There wasn’t a soul in sight.
“Dad, who hired you to do the cleaning?”
“The principal.”
“Then call the principal and ask him to open the gate.”
Zuo Xingping realized what he should do. He rummaged left and right inside his Taoist robe, finally pulling out a button phone. He pressed it for a while, but the screen wouldn’t light up. He shook the phone. “Looks like the battery is dead.”
Jiang Mian: “…”
If she had to rely on her Taoist Dad remembering the principal’s phone number, she might as well—
“Dad, let’s climb over the wall.”
Before Zuo Xingping could react, he saw his precious daughter roll up her sleeves and nimbly scale the iron gate.
The top of the iron gate had sharp metal spikes specifically designed to prevent people from climbing over. Zuo Xingping had no time to wonder when his precious daughter had become so good at climbing walls. His heart was in his throat. “Be careful, careful! Don’t fall! Take it slow, slow!”
Only when Jiang Mian landed safely on the other side did Zuo Xingping breathe a sigh of relief. He was about to say something when Jiang Mian headed straight for the security booth. Seeing that the security booth door was open, she said to her Taoist Dad, “Dad, wait a moment. I’ll see if I can open the gate.”
A moment later, Jiang Mian walked out with a bunch of keys. After trying each one, the gate opened, successfully letting her Taoist Dad in.
Zuo Xingping walked inside, feeling a bit dizzy.
“Who are you?!” The father and daughter had only taken a few steps when a middle-aged man who looked like a security guard came rushing over.
He was the school’s gatekeeper. He had simply gone to use the bathroom, and when he came back, two more people were at the entrance.
Thinking of the recent rumors about the school, the security guard’s heart pounded like thunder. It was only when he saw the shadows cast by the two on the ground that he finally breathed a sigh of relief.
They had shadows. They were human.
Zuo Xingping, seeing the security guard’s tall and sturdy build, instinctively stepped forward two paces, shielding Jiang Mian behind him. “I’m the cleaner hired by your Principal Liu.”
The security guard immediately understood. He had received instructions that a Taoist would be arriving in the early hours of the morning. The reason he was waiting here was to let him in.
He remembered that the gate had been locked, yet this Taoist had managed to get in. Clearly, he was a formidable figure. The security guard’s demeanor became much more respectful. “Please follow me, Master.”
At this hour, the students were all asleep. The campus was completely quiet, lit only by the dim glow of the streetlights, casting faint, hazy shadows.
“Mianmian.” Zuo Xingping held his precious daughter’s hand, hesitated for a moment, and then asked, “Are you scared?”
“Not at all,” Jiang Mian said, her eyes curving into a smile.
Seeing that his precious daughter truly wasn’t afraid, Zuo Xingping felt relieved.
Before long, the security guard led them to a teaching building. The lights inside the building were on. He said, “Master, this is the place. I won’t go in.”
With that, the security guard hurried back the way he came, moving as if his hair were on fire, as if the slightest delay would cause something to rush out of the teaching building and swallow him whole.
Jiang Mian: “…”
The father and daughter entered the teaching building. Zuo Xingping was still wondering whether he should go to the men’s restroom, grab a mop, and pretend to clean when he suddenly heard Jiang Mian say, “Dad, what’s that over there? It looks like a person.”
Jiang Mian pointed down the right corridor. Zuo Xingping looked in the direction of her finger. There was nothing there.
Could his daughter have seen something she shouldn’t have?
This thought had barely flashed through his mind when a fragrance suddenly reached his nose, and then Zuo Xingping lost consciousness.
Jiang Mian helped her unconscious Taoist Dad into a classroom and let him lie down on a desk.
Although she had made no progress in her cultivation recently and couldn’t yet create elixirs, formations, or talismans, brewing some incense was more than sufficient.
What she had just used on her Taoist Dad was a very common type of incense in the cultivation world. It caused the person who smelled it to fall unconscious for fifteen minutes.
She had made it for self-defense, but this was the first time she’d used it, and it was on her Taoist Dad.
Jiang Mian could already sense that cold, dark power on the third floor.
She thought for a moment, took two talismans from her dad’s pocket, then stopped after two steps and went back, also taking her dad’s peachwood sword.
“Dad, you have a good sleep. I’ll do your cleaning work for you tonight.”
With that, Jiang Mian walked briskly up to the third floor.
There, another kind of spiritual energy was waving to her enticingly~
**