There are many cluster beans, also known as astragalus, on Ziyun Mountain.
Xuan Yu chased insects and butterflies, burrowing into the cluster beans, and before long emerged from the thickets with leaves clinging to him.
Xu Qing heard Xuan Yu's words and glanced sideways. Sure enough, under an old tree by the mountain path, there sat a shrine quietly.
The shrine, long neglected, had peeling lacquer. Xu Qing carefully looked at the sacred plaque and found it was built for Lady Ziyun.
Lady Ziyun...
Looking at the mountain full of astragalus, Xu Qing suddenly understood.
"Xuan Yu, this is not a temple, it's a shrine. Although it has incense offerings, it's different from our temple."
By this time, Xuan Yu had slipped into the shrine. Though only three feet square, it seemed spacious to the cat's eyes.
"What's different?" The cat was curious.
Xu Qing watched the black cat occupy the dove's nest and simply sat cross-legged in front of the shrine, patiently explaining:
"Temples are large and public; they are widely known, and pilgrims come to burn incense and worship, often with aspirations. The gods revered in temples have higher statuses. Shrines are small and private, often built by villagers or rural people, and the deities enshrined in them are unknown to outsiders, worshiped only by local people or their own families."
"Because shrines are small, even if spirits truly reside in them, the divine power is very weak. Thus, those who build the shrines won't make any ambitious aspirations while worshiping. Like this shrine for Lady Ziyun, someone probably admired the beautiful scenery of astragali covering Ziyun Mountain, and out of love for the place, built this small shrine."
Xuan Yu looked down at the incense burner tilted on its side within the shrine.
Clearly, this shrine hadn't been worshiped for a long time.
"Does Xu Immortal think Lady Ziyun once lived in this shrine?"
Xu Qing shook his head and said, "How could a celestial being live in such a small shrine? Perhaps there were grass spirits or wood charms here before..."
Xuan Yu felt a sense of loss and said, "Speaking of which, the Xu Immortal Family's temple is also on this mountain. If one day it becomes like this, wouldn't that be pitiful..."
Xu Qing laughed and said:
"Even if no one else comes to my temple to worship, I don't think my temple would become like this."
"Why?"
"Because as long as Xuan Yu is here, he wouldn't let my temple be untended."
Upon hearing this, Xuan Yu's cat ears trembled involuntarily. Then, with a bit of pride, the cat raised his long neck and strutted out of the shrine.
"Naturally, I will frequently clean Xu Immortal Family's temple, ensuring it won't be abandoned."
Xu Qing smiled warmly, "Then I will trouble Xuan Yu Immortal Family to watch over it."
Before going down the mountain, a zombie and a cat lightly repaired the dilapidated shrine, so it no longer seemed as desolate as before.
Descending to the foot of the mountain, Xu Qing gained a wisp of incense in his Bloodlake Dharma Realm.
He sensed slightly and found the incense came from Linjiang County, presumably from someone worshiping his longevity plaque.
It certainly couldn't be that county lady paying homage to him...
Xu Qing pondered that maybe he should find some people in the future to watch over the Baosheng Temple. Otherwise, if someone takes advantage of it, as the major shopkeeper from behind, he might bear some responsibility for poor oversight.
As for who to find, Xu Qing already had a direction in mind.
At the foot of the mountain, there is a village, and a zombie and a cat walked on the morning village road, attracting curious glances from early-rising villagers.
When someone asked, Xu Qing would explain that he was a pilgrim heading to the temple of Lady Songzi.
All the villagers believed it.
After all, no matter how they thought about it, they would never connect the young man in front of them with the celestial lady of the mountain.
Not far from the village, a river flowed, connecting with the Baisha River. Though not vast, it spanned five or six yards wide.
By the river, a woman was washing clothes.
It was still early in the day, and the women washing clothes at this time often cleaned intimate garments.
They did this to avoid others seeing these embarrassing clothes, which is why they came early when no one was around to wash them by the river.
After entering the Hidden Corpse realm, Xu Qing's sense of smell was highly sensitive, and even at a distance, he could smell the scent of soap from the woman's washing, accompanied by an unpleasant foul stench of blood.
Instinctively, Xu Qing moved away, but suddenly he heard the cry of a baby from the river.
Xuan Yu stopped and turned his head, motionless, looking in the direction of the sound.
"Xu Immortal Family."
Confirming the sound's origin, Xuan Yu looked up at Xu Qing.
Understanding the situation, Xu Qing and the cat headed unhesitatingly toward the riverside.
The woman washing clothes also heard the baby's cries from the river, stood up, shaking the water from her hands, and looked around.
It was quite alarming at first sight; there was a swaddling cloth about a foot and a half long drifting with the current!
The woman slapped her thigh, realizing something was wrong.
Who could be so careless as to lose their child in the river!
At this moment, the river flowed steadily, and who knows when a wave might come and sweep the child into the water.
Even without the waves, once the swaddling is soaked with water, it would sink to the riverbed.
"Oh no!"
The woman cried out in surprise and wanted to call out, but realized that it was still early, and there was no one else around.
Just as the woman hurried along the riverbank, trying to catch the swaddling cloth, a jade Ruyi suddenly emitted a gentle light from the river, carrying the baby to the shore.
The woman widened her eyes and then rubbed them, only to open them again and find the jade Ruyi gone, leaving only the swaddling quietly lying on the sandbank.
Not far away, Xu Qing extended a hand to catch the flying jade Ruyi, and with a slight force, the Ruyi dissolved into red incense, returning to the Dharma Realm.
A zombie and a cat concealed themselves atop a large banyan tree, silently watching the woman by the river pick up the baby, looking around and calling out.
Seeing no response and the baby crying terribly, the woman didn't bother with the laundry and utensils left by the river and hastily returned to the village with the child.
On the thick branch of the banyan tree, Xuan Yu stood on a higher branch, turned his head to Xu Qing on the same tree, and asked:
"Since Xu Immortal Family is Lady Baosheng, why not personally reveal a miracle to save the child?"
Xu Qing glanced at Xuan Yu and said softly:
"If I appeared with divine manifestations, this woman might spread the holy name of Lady Baosheng, but I do not know where this child belongs, nor whether he was abandoned or accidentally fell into the water."
"I can't just take this child home and raise him, can I?"
Xuan Yu's eyes lit up and instinctively said, "Why can't you raise him?"
"..."
Xu Qing grinned and said, "Do you think raising a child is easy, with someone to take care of dirty diapers?"
"Moreover, I don't produce milk, how could I raise a baby?"
"..."
Xuan Yu shut his mouth completely. Indeed, babies need feeding, and although Xu Immortal Family is Lady Baosheng, Lady Baosheng is a man and doesn't produce milk.
Seeing the woman enter the village, Xu Qing took out a piece of white paper and folded a small paper crane, to covertly observe as the woman went along.
When he saw the woman cook porridge and borrow goat milk from a farmer to make milk porridge for the baby, Xu Qing was relieved.
Once the paper crane turned to ash, Xu Qing opened his eyes and jumped down from the banyan tree.
"No wonder there is a saying of interaction between gods and humans. It is said that humans bear the numbers of the heavens, while gods wield the will of the heavens. My temple, just built, coincidentally received a sign because of this child."
Lady Baosheng presides over childbirth matters; her nature is close to infants. Xu Qing, upon descending the mountain, encountered a baby's cry for help, suggesting there was some fate involved.
Xuan Yu couldn't understand Xu Qing's words, but instinctively felt that following Xu Immortal Family's lead would ensure a full meal.
Just like Hu Baosong as well.
Animals are always more sensitive than humans in certain ways. Otherwise, Hu Baosong wouldn't have told Daoist Yizhen that following Xu Qing's instructions was agreeable, but not to trust him.
The old fox always felt he was cunningly wise, not realizing that not long after his death, Xu Qing had seen through him in his lantern of life.
That included Hu Baosong's behind-the-back derogatory remarks about Daoist Yizhen.
He, merely a zombie, whatever he spoke was certainly the truth, making it more reliable than deceitful human words.
In this regard, Xuan Yu surpassed Hu Baosong by a significant margin.
At least, whatever Xu Qing said, this cat truly believed.