By evening, when Yaoyao found Qingyun carrying a thick stack of Talismans of Peace, the latter's eyelids couldn't help but twitch.
"Yaoyao, it's not that your Senior Uncle is scolding you, but how long will it take to use up so many Talismans of Peace?"
Qingyun knew very well the state of his small Taoist temple. To say it was desolate was an exaggeration. Furthermore, with his niece having gone down the mountain recently, and the Taoist temple being temporarily closed, the familiar old patrons no longer came. A few days ago, when he went to tidy the temple, he didn't even see a single person all day, apart from three or four stray cats. At this rate, this stack would probably last until he had one foot in the grave.
Qingyun was unaware of Yaoyao's livestream, let alone that there were hundreds of thousands of viewers in the livestream room. Even if only one percent decided to visit in person, that number would be staggering.
"Senior Uncle, just take them. Our Huoyun Temple will definitely be very lively this time, and all these will be given away." Yaoyao didn't know how to explain, so she simply didn't bother and directly shoved the items into his hands. She then instructed, "Tomorrow, Butler Uncle will send several boxes of incense and candles to the Taoist temple. Senior Uncle, remember to put them in the storeroom." This was also something Yaoyao had thought of in advance. If visitors came and had no incense to offer, the Ancestral Master might be displeased.
With so many miscellaneous items and a thorough process, Qingyun himself started to doubt. Was this truly happening? He thought carefully, and it wasn't impossible. After all, with the Gu family's connections, if they truly wanted to help the Taoist temple, it would be quite easy. As the saying goes, 'to forge iron, one must be strong oneself,' and it was clear that his niece's abilities were beyond doubt. It was just a matter of not knowing how to promote, and the Gu family could perfectly make up for this shortcoming.
Thinking of this, Qingyun himself became excited. He clapped his hands repeatedly, saying, "Good, truly good!" Although he had left the mountain to roam early on, his desire to see the Taoist temple flourish had never disappeared. Now, seeing a clear possibility of success, he couldn't help but be overjoyed.
Perhaps he was too excited, as he couldn't sit still that evening. He used a Earth Shrinking Talisman and headed straight for the Taoist temple. Because he had cleaned up a while ago, the rooms were all ready for sleeping. He was so anxious because he feared missing the opportunity for visitors to arrive. Yaoyao couldn't stop him, so she could only instruct her Senior Uncle that if he encountered anything he couldn't resolve, he should call her.
"Don't worry, I'll definitely need you to step in," Qingyun said, fully aware of his own limitations. He didn't believe he could handle fortune-telling or divination. It was fine to trick others in everyday life, but he wouldn't even deceive himself.
The buzz continued to build until the day after the livestream ended, when the true surge in traffic began. That day, Yaoyao, who was originally at home drinking iced cold beverages, eating potato chips and snacks while binge-watching anime, suddenly received a barrage of frantic calls from her Senior Uncle.
When she picked up, she heard her Senior Uncle's horrified voice coming from the other end of the line. "Niece, quickly come to the Taoist temple! Someone's life is at stake!"
"The person specifically asked to see you, saying that if he doesn't see you, he'll die in the temple tonight. Senior Uncle truly has no other choice, hurry over, Senior Uncle can't hold on much longer."
Yaoyao was also taken aback by this sudden development. This was clearly not the time for an in-depth inquiry, as some things couldn't be explained clearly over the phone.
"Senior Uncle, hold on a little longer. Yaoyao will be there right away."
Thus, she didn't hesitate to put down her snacks and turn off the TV. She found a secluded corner and used Earth Travel Art to rush to the temple.
...
Huoyun Temple.
The architectural style of green tiles and red pillars undoubtedly exuded a strong sense of age. As it belonged to the Three Pure Sect, besides the statue of the Ancestral Master in the main hall, there were also divine tablets and incense burners for the Three Pure Ones. Unlike the usual coldness of the incense burners, today the entire hall was filled with pungent incense smoke.
Light filtered through the tiles, casting dappled shadows onto the Ancestral Master's statue, creating an illusion of a golden body manifesting. If it were any other day, Qingyun would definitely record such a rare and beautiful sight.
But today, he had a headache. He glanced at the young man sitting beside him, who was currently very tense, his eyes occasionally looking outside. Clearly, he was waiting for someone, and the person he was waiting for was none other than Yaoyao. It was because of this man that he had no choice but to make the call, truly unable to placate the latter.
"Yaoyao, you can't blame Senior Uncle for disturbing you. It's truly a tricky situation that Senior Uncle can't handle." Qingyun couldn't help but murmur to himself. This young man had originally just asked for a talisman. But after he gave it to the other party, before he even had time to put it in his pocket, the Talisman of Peace turned to ash on its own.
This eerie scene made Qingyun's hair stand on end. He knew that the latter was probably in big trouble. So, to appease him and try his best to save him, Qingyun continuously gave him several more talismans. Without exception, all these Talismans of Peace turned into ashes, and the young man completely collapsed emotionally, not daring to leave the Taoist temple. He was so afraid that if he stepped out, he would die on the spot. Therefore, even when the temple was empty, he didn't leave.
The young man glanced at the watch on his wrist, seeing that there was only a minute or two left until the quarter-hour. He couldn't help but look at Qingyun and ask, "Daoist Priest, how much longer until Master Yaoyao arrives?"
"This... the sky is about to get dark again, and I... I... I'm scared." The reason the young man came to ask for a Talisman of Peace was because he knew there was a great terror at night. He had originally thought it could be resolved during the day, but who knew that things weren't as simple as he imagined, which made his hanging heart get caught up again.
"Soon, she'll be here in a little while."
This was already who knew how many times the latter had asked. Qingyun, no matter how patient he was, was getting a little annoyed now. He couldn't help but inwardly complain, 'What's the point of asking repeatedly? It takes time to travel; she can't just fly over.'
The young man seemed to sense the change in Qingyun's mood. He knew the other party had reached his limit of patience, so he didn't dare to speak again, but waited anxiously in his seat. In his mind, scene after scene that chilled him to the bone uncontrollably appeared.
His complexion also grew worse and worse. Just as he was about to collapse, Qingyun, who had been sitting quietly, suddenly stood up, his face filled with joy. The reason was simple: his niece had arrived!
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